Students must foot bill after food fight

Students must foot bill after food fight

CHESTERTON, Ind. - A massive middle school food fight left several students suspended and the eighth-grade class footing the cleaning bill that included the cost of scraping mashed potatoes off the ceiling.

Last week's fight at Chesterton Middle School left ceiling tiles damaged and could cost the students as much as $1,000 to pay for overtime, maintenance and repairs, said Duneland School Corporation Superintendent Dirk Baer.

"It wasn't just one or two kids throwing grapes," Baer said. "There were mashed potatoes sticking to the ceiling."

Security cameras captured the fracas that broke out about halfway through the 25-minute lunch period Wednesday at the school in the town 15 miles east of Gary.

The school suspended between six and 10 students for two or three days for launching the day's menu of chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and milk into the air.

As many as 50 students might have been involved. Principal Jim Ton recommended one student be expelled.

Cleaning costs will be taken from the eighth grade's extracurricular activity fund.

Baer said the whole class was punished because many of the grade's 500 students knew about plans for the food fight but failed to alert administrators.

"It was planned and it was widely known that it would happen, but nobody said anything," Baer said. "Everybody has to take responsibility."