We have been discussing the over-reaction officials in past cases where police have been called to address pranks or controversies once handled internally in schools. A news story near Houston only serves to capture this absurdity. It began when Danesiah Neal, an eighth grader at Fort Bend Independent School District’s Christa McAuliffe Middle School, attempted to pay for lunch with a $2 bill given to her by her grandmother, Sharon Kay Joseph. The lunch personnel had never seen a $2 bill and the reaction is truly absurd overreaction involving banks and police.
First, the school called Joseph to say that they believed that Danesiah had passed fake money. After she said that she gave Danesiah the bill, the police traced the bill back to the convenience store where Joseph recalled receiving it. They then went to the bank for an examination of the bill. The bank of course said that the $2 bill is a $2 bill. Only then did the police return the bill. No one apologized to Danesiah, of course. It is just another day in the new criminalized environment of our schools.
Just for the record, only a moronic counterfeiter would replicate the $2 dollar bill as opposed to . . . I don’t know . . . a $50. Then there is picking one of the rarest bills around to make your windfall . . . $2 at a time.
For future reference, we have had a $2 bill since March 1862 and it was brought back into production in 1976 with the design of Thomas Jefferson on the front and John Trumbull’s depiction of the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence on the back. There are currently about 1.2 billion $2 bills in circulation.
Yet, it appears that a group of teachers, administrators, and police not only appear clueless about the existence of such bills but did not seem inclined to go on the Internet to quickly confirm the truth. Instead, a police investigation was launched and a student was accused of passing counterfeit money.
ACTUALLY – This is a poorly investigated article. I work at a credit union and people make fake small bills all the time because they go undetected much easier. $50s and $100s get checked as do $20s at small institutions. I just sent off a false $5 two days ago.
Why are they punishing a thirteen-year-old for a fake $10 bill? Wouldn’t the parents have given it to him? Schools used to be safe places. Now you need to protect your children from them!
As I understand most counterfeiters make fake $100 bills only. It’s probably not cost effective for them to bother with anything smaller!
Reblogged this on The Blue Route.
I used to collect $2 bills, now my son does
Who wrote the copy on this story? “Only servers to capture the absurdity.” The dumbing down of America. The $2 bill story is sad news but our fifth estate is hiring idiots.
Mike – Mr. Turley seems to write 4 of these late at night 5 nights a week. Many of us have suggested that he get an editor.
Oh my. Only in Texas.
It is too bad that the people responsible for this farce still have their jobs. If I were the parents, I would go to the school board and demand that they be FIRED for incompetence. Failing that, they need to find some REAL school that has some real teachers and administrators. If the board refuses to fire those responsible, they should all face good opponents next election and get rid of those fools.
randyjet – they usually teach money about 2nd or 3rd grade. They should have checked with the third grade teacher.
I sometimes work in movie productions as a props buyer. Often the local community is miffed at the production company for being in the way and clogging the streets. $2 bills are common in casinos and show business. If the complaints get heavy we will start to buy all the props with $2 bills. It usually isn’t long before the town is flooded with them and complaints pretty much stop.
The dumbing down of America…… Just for S&G when I go on the road it pass two dollar bills out as tips to baggage handlers, porters and such. Taxi drivers get a kick the they get a wad of $2.
@Arbitrator, not sure where you are leading with the partisan sniping. There are certainly dumb Republican office holders and state’s attorneys and police and school administrators. Guess what? The same is true of Democrats. As noted above, a very similar situation occurred a few years back in Baltimore County MD – a Mr. Bolesta, trying to pay with $2 bills, is handcuffed, hauled to the station and locked to a pole until the Secret Service can show up and explain to the locals that a $2 is legal currency and he wasn’t counterfeiting anything. In case anyone is unfamiliar with Maryland politics, people are NOT likely to characterize Baltimore County as “a bastion of GOP political leadership, thought, and rhetoric”.