Child's handwritten note fools school secretary

(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Middleboro, Mass.) - "Dear Mrs. Trottier, Gannon is not going to the program," read the note - written in highlighter on art-style notebook paper - that Buckland Elementary School first grader Gannon Farley gave to his teacher last December, asking to be dismissed from his after school program at the Middleboro, Mass. school.
 
"He tells a good story - Mom was busy with the kids," said Gannon's mom Amie Nay, "She asked me to help her write it."
 
Nay says the teacher rightly questioned the note and sent it up to a secretary at the office to call his parents to check on it.

But Nay never received a call because she says the school never updated her cell phone number on her son's contact form.
 
"I fill these forms out in triplicate and I give them 15 names," said Nay. "Not one other person was called, they left a single voicemail on a number that they hadn't updated."
 
She says her then 6-year-old son was sent home on the bus to an empty house.
 
"It terrifies me to think that he managed to outsmart your administration," said Nay.
 
Nay says she went into the school and complained, contacted the superintendent and even had a hearing with the school committee.
 
"I looked at it and I said to the principal, 'you're kidding me right, really? This was accepted as a legitimate note,'" said Nay.
 
Reached by phone while traveling out town, Superintendent Michael Malone said a mistake was made and luckily nothing severe happened.

Malone said the appropriate action was taken with the secretary, but that he can't comment on it because it's a personnel matter.
 
"She's still employed," said Nay. "I don't feel that appropriate action has been taken."
 
While she continues to fight for that, Nay says, if nothing else, her son has learned an important lesson.
 
"What did we talk about, your piece of this," Nay asked her son.

"Well never write your own note because that's wrong," said her son.

The superintendent said in light of this, the district's dismissal policies and procedures were reviewed and changed.

Amie Nay says she has seen improvements in the policies - like requiring ID when picking up your child - but she says you can change the polices all you want, you still have to make sure everyone is following them.