WEST JORDAN — What began as a fracas over a banana in the lunchroom has escalated to the point of Jordan School District requesting a protective order against an elementary school mom.
Despite facing serious budget cuts, Jordan District officials feel it is worth it to pay $360 in court fees for the protective order.
"She is disrupting the school," said Cal Evans, Jordan District compliance officer.
The court order would prevent the mother, Heather Vunipola, from entering Columbia Elementary School, 3505 W. 7800 South, unless she has the principal's written permission. The mom can still attend school programs and go to parent-teacher conferences, Evans said.
However, Vunipola, who has three children at the school, said the incidents detailed in court documents are from times the principal met with her by appointment at the school to discuss her children's behavior. The concerns included what she said were anonymous accusations of her son being a bully.
Evans said, "It seems every time she (Vunipola) comes in the building she has a chip on her shoulder."
During these meetings with school administration, Vunipola admits she became upset but also says she was provoked. School administrators say the woman yelled and swore at them.
In one incident, Vunipola became so upset with school administrators that she went to the sixth-grade class where her son was, with intentions of taking him home. School administrators reacted to her actions, since they violated school procedure. "There is a process you go through," Evans said, explaining parents can't just go personally yank their children out of class any time they want.
In another school incident, which occurred during an evening program for female students, Vunipola got in an argument with another parent over her children's behavior.
"I'm not rude. I just tell people how I feel," Vunipola told the Deseret News.
Vunipola added she believes there could also be some race issues going on at the school, since her children are half Tongan. She also suggests there may be a cultural clash as she is from the East Coast, where people tend to be more loud and blunt.
What exactly occurred with Vunipola in the school's lunchroom regarding the banana depends on who is detailing the incident.
District officials contend Vunipola got in the lunch line behind her child and took a lunch. She then refused to pay the cashier, saying since her child was on the free lunch program, she shouldn't have to pay for her lunch either. When the cashier said that isn't how the free lunch program works, Vunipola allegedly then took a banana. When the cashier said that would be 25 cents, the mother allegedly became angry, threw the banana back on the counter and called the cashier a Nazi (expletive), according to district officials.
Vunipola's version is that she was accompanying her daughter to free school breakfast since her daughter felt uncomfortable going alone. Vunipola admits she ate a banana off of her daughter's tray while sitting in the lunchroom. A lunchroom worker then confronted her and said she had to pay for the fruit. Vunipola said she became upset, tossed a couple of quarters to the worker and told her off, saying her having to pay was "ridiculous."
"She sounded like Hitler," Vunipola told the Deseret News.
Evans said the goal of the protective order is so Vunipola can "see the district is very serious about keeping the kids safe. There is a real question as to how volatile this parent may be."
While Evans calls the protective order "a last resort," Vunipola said the last thing that occurred was a meeting with her, the principal and a district administrator.
A protective order can be issued soon after it is filed in the court system, but the person has the opportunity to attend a court hearing and tell his or her side, after which the judge makes a final decision on the order. Violating a protective order is a Class-A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $4,625 in fines and surcharges.
Vunipola met with Jordan District superintendent Barry Newbold Wednesday, at her request. District officials said the meeting didn't change the district's request for a protective order.
She said she is considering whether to pull her children out of school immediately, wait until the end of the school year or hope school administration stops "being so controlling.
"I'll do whatever it takes to keep my kids happy," Vunipola said. "I don't want to deal with her (the principal). She is on a power trip."
Columbia Elementary principal Kathe Riding referred comment to Jordan District public relations officials, who referred questions to Evans.
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