The story of Johnny Cook from Georgia will make you think what you are willing to risk for the sake of preserving your integrity. This man lost his job only because he stayed true to his moral values and principles. He now works as a horse trainer, but he recalls the time when he was driving the school bus for Haralson County Middle School making sure all his passengers get safely to and from school.
One day, back in 2013, a student boarded the bus complaining how he was starving. When Johnny asked him why he didn’t eat anything he told him how the school refused to serve him lunch because he lacked 40 cents. The bus driver couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Leaving a boy that young hungry all day was something he couldn’t get over so he took to social media to share his frustration.
He posted the story and shared it with his family and friends. He also issued a plea to those in charge of the school to change the lunch plan.
“Huh! What! This child is already on reduced lunch and we can’t let him eat. Are you kidding me? I’m certain there was leftover food thrown away today. But kids were turned away because they didn’t have .40 on there account .” the post reads.
Many people who agreed with Johnny shared his post because they wanted the message to be spread.
But, it turned out that the school superintendent wasn’t happy with what Johnny did and offered him an ultimatum. He had to either apologize for the story and say it was all a lie or get fired from the job.
This bus driver chose the latter and never considered saying sorry for telling the truth and stepping in for a child that wasn’t treated the way he should have.
“I felt like, in my heart of hearts, the kid was telling me the truth. Whether he was, whether he wasn’t, I believed him, so I wasn’t going to recant the story.”
Counter claim
The school and the superintendent argue that the incident never took place. They claim how the security cameras prove the boy wasn’t even in the lunch line that day. They also state that even if he didn’t have money, the school would have offered him a bagged lunch.
Take a look at the video below to hear both sides of the argument.