A Putnam County teen is recovering after he was burned during his high school welding class this week.
Tyson Baggett’s mother Amanda is frustrated because she says Palatka High School did not call her as soon as it happened.
In fact, she says she didn’t hear from the school until hours later.
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The school district told Action News Jax that it did attempt to call her after the incident, which happened Tuesday.
Baggett, 16, suffered second-degree burns while using a grinder in the class. Sparks ignited his shirt, and he caught on fire.
Baggett’s mother says she didn’t learn about what happened until a relative brought him home, and she says she didn’t get a call from the high school until hours later — after she posted about it on Facebook.
“They dropped the ball on that one for sure, cause I should have been the first one to call,” Amanda Baggett said.
The school said Amanda Baggett had a non-working number.
“I think they were having trouble getting a hold of the parent so I think they contacted another relative,” said Superintendent Rick Surrency. “The first thing they want to do is to contact someone to get the child picked up.”
“No that’s not true they have my number on file,” Amanda Baggett said.
The school district told Action News Jax that their priority was for Tyson to get medical attention as soon as possible — so they called whoever they could reach.
Amanda Baggett said that was unacceptable.
“It makes me sad for the other students,” Amanda Baggett said. “I don’t want this to happen again to another student.”
16-year old Tyson had 2nd degree burns from the incident. Tonight we're also asking why the school didn't call an ambulance @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/jR0DZVNQ5Y
— Kevin Clark (@KClark_News) February 2, 2017
Cox Media Group
