Cafeteria Worker Fired Over Dishonesty In Soliciting Donations For Children’s Lunches

Mar 10, 2025 by apost team

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In a surprising twist, an Alabama school cafeteria worker was fired after soliciting donations to pay for children’s lunches. The worker, Avette Dunn, argued that her act of accepting donations to go to feeding schoolchildren was well-intentioned, but the Alabama school board did not agree and sacked her. 

Dunn, who had worked at Shelby County Elementary School for almost a decade, was terminated by the Shelby County School Board after being placed on “detached duty” in October 2024. During a hearing on Feb. 24, 2025, it was confirmed that Dunn had solicited money to go towards helping schoolchildren who could not afford to pay for their school meals. The cafeteria worker had contacted a family friend on Facebook soliciting donations for meals after claiming that her manager, Carla Hilliard, had been told that the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) board did not have sufficient funds for this purpose. 

The friend, Wanda Pate, revealed that she initially donated $200 to the PTO account. After that, Dunn allegedly contacted her again, asking if she could donate additional funds. Pate then made two more donations to the cause. Eventually, Pate reached out to her daughter-in-law, who worked at the same school as the PTO treasurer. She enquired whether there was a lack of funds and was told that the PTO was not at all low on funds. This then prompted the investigation into Dunn’s conduct.

The hearing included testimonies from the school principal, other officials, and Dunn herself in her defense. Pate also shared screenshots from her conversations with Dunn as proof. While the hearing found that the funds were not misused and had indeed gone into the PTO account, the board asserted that Dunn had lied about her actions when asked directly about them by the school principal and that it had not been her duty to accept or seek donations. 

Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Lewis Brooks recommended the termination of Dunn’s employment at the school’s cafeteria due to her dishonesty in not being upfront about soliciting donations for the school’s PTO account. He also described her as insubordinate in the same letter of recommendation. In a later statement, he said:

“This is not about someone being punished for trying to feed needy children. It is about an employee who solicited money that was not needed because the fund was not low. She was not truthful when questioned by her supervisor and a district supervisor.”

Ultimately, the dishonesty contributed to the board’s decision to terminate Dunn’s employment. It assured that no child at the school had ever been denied lunch, nor would they be denied food if they were hungry. At the hearing, it was also revealed that the school even offers seconds for children who aren’t full after their first helping and even has a “backpack buddies” program that sends students home with food. 

In her defense, Dunn said:

“I made a mistake and I think I should be able to go back to my job. In my opinion, I think I should’ve been suspended for two weeks, but I’ve been off since October, but I don’t think I should get terminated just for not telling.”

At the hearing, Dunn was told that she was expected to exercise more honesty as she worked with children. The board’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Joel Dixon also said:

“I think there’s an expectation, just a professional expectation, that if your supervisor asks you a question, you be truthful about it. ... People make mistakes but to be honest about those mistakes seems important.”

Although Dunn gave all the donations to the PTO account, her dishonesty, when questioned by the principal, ultimately led to her being fired. 

apost.com

What do you think of this? Did Avette Dunn deserve to be fired? Let us know your thoughts, and then pass this on to family and friends to get their take on the situation.