STEPHEN, S.C.—On October 24th, Rhoda Cannon Johnson says her son, Randy “RJ” Cannon, 16, was called into the principal’s office after school cameras caught him passing dipping tobacco to other students on campus.
“They were then going to search him and asked if he had anything on him that they would find,” stated the teen’s mother. “He handed them a shirt wrapped up with a box blade inside that he uses to work with. The principal, knowing that he rides the bus from school to work, recommended him for expulsion and then just a short time later they expelled him.”
According to the teen’s mother, her son works at the IGA, a local grocery story in St. Stephen. He often uses the blade to open boxes when stocking products on store shelves.
“It (the box cutter) was wrapped up in his work shirt and in the bottom of his book bag,” she said. “The blade is less than two inches. When asked, he pulled it out of his book bag and handed it to him.”
Johnson admits her son deserves to be punished but claims expelling him is a bit extreme.
“He’s never been in trouble before, and he knows he made a stupid mistake,” stated Johnson. “The box cutter was used for work purposes and he never intended or even thought of it as a weapon, and the dip is all around him daily. He wanted to be a part of something, so he was trying it just like about 20 to 30 other students that go to Timberland.”
Her son is currently a sophomore and an A/B student and actively involved in numerous school organizations, according to the teen’s mother.
“He is a sergeant in the JROTC, Raider team (2nd year), drill team, color guard. He is in FFA (2nd year), and he is the reporter on the committee for FFA. He is currently on HOSA and practicing his EMT completion for the Competition of HOSA, He is also a member of STEMS (which is Science, Math, Technology and engineering clubs),” stated Johnson. “He has been a member of the Boy Scouts since he was a Tiger Cub at age six. “His rank now is life scout and is currently working on
his eagle project which is the high honor award given to boys before the age of 18.”
On top of all that, Johnson says her son has been a junior firefighter since the age of fourteen with Macedonia Rural Volunteer Fire Department.
“My son is a good kid with goals and plans for his future, and now with this comes being kicked out of the Jr. Program at the fire department,” stated Johnson. “He is going to be 20-years-old now before he graduates. His original plans were to take course over the summer to graduate early and get started on his career.”
The Berkeley Observer reached out to the Berkeley County School District for comment Friday. Spokesperson Chip Sturgis stated that the school district could not comment on individual students.
“According to our district policies and the South Carolina Code of Laws, the child can be expelled for possessing a weapon on school property,” added Sturgis. “The family has the right to appeal the expulsion decision if they choose.”
Johnson says that’s exactly what she plans to do. Her son’s appeal hearing will take place on Tuesday at the Berkeley County School District in Moncks Corner.
“My son has always been taught to tell the truth. He voluntarily gave the box cutter to them but without his book bag being searched, no one would have knew it was there,” stated Johnson.
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