BUFFALO, N.Y. — It's chicken nuggets and soft pretzels on the menu at South Buffalo Charter School, but suspension is being served for some lunchroom workers.
Three are seen in pictures, posted on a fourth worker's public Instagram account. They are posing on a prep table in the school cafeteria. One of the pictures shows a woman on her knees, with her feet on the table, and a peeled banana held in a phallic position.
The woman who took the pictures told 7 Eyewitness News I-Team reporter Ed Drantch, "it was a joke."
The pictures were anything but a joke for Dave Cervi, President of Personal Touch Food Service, a third-party vendor that is hired by the school for food service.
"I can't believe anyone that works in a school, with children, would even consider doing something like that. It was horrifying to us," Cervi said.
Personal Touch has been under contract with South Buffalo Charter School for five years.
Cervi says this is the first time he's ever dealt with something like this. He says he had the four employees surrender their school ID tags to Principal David Ehrle, and walked out of the building.
"Everyone has an understanding, upon being hired, this is not the type of behavior you do in general, but certainly not at a school. We don't condone it and we're here to provide a safe environment for the students," Ehrle said.
The woman who took these pictures has her own children enrolled at this school. Nearly 1,000 students are enrolled.
The pictures were posted four days ago on the worker's public Instagram account.
They have since been taken down and the account made private. That was only after the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team spoke to the worker on the phone and before she and her three co-workers were suspended.
Personal Touch Food Service says they will not be back until at least next week, when the internal investigation is completed.