Collingswood, NJ — A Collingswood teacher called police after one of her third-graders said comments made by another student about class brownies were "racist."

The mother of the boy who made the comments said she was concerned that police were called over something so trivial. And other parents and school officials say it's part of a recent trend of teachers alerting authorities over what should be routine behavioral issues, with cops called to the school as many as five times per day. The mayor, police and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office met Tuesday night to discuss not just the racist brownie caper but other cases that might have been handled just as well with a revoked recess or no punishment at all.



"In our discussion today, you and your staff made it abundantly clear that our recent meeting was to reinforce the applicability of the Memorandum of Agreement, but not to expand its terms," Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley wrote to Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colallilo. "The instances for which school conduct may trigger a notification to law enforcement officials is set forth within the Memorandum of Agreement, and has been in effect prior to our meeting in late May. … Thank you for clarifying this matter."

The brownie case began two weeks ago, when police were called to a classroom end-of-the-year party after one of the students made a comment about the brownies (it wasn't clear exactly what was said), and another student said the comments were racist.



Police spoke with the boy who made the comment, along with his parents. "He said they were talking about brownies," Stacy dos Santos, the boy's mother, told Philly.com. "Who exactly did he offend?"

Dos Santos said her son was "traumatized" because of the police investigation — authorities referred the case to New Jersey's Division of Child Protection and Permanency — and wants him to attend a different school next year.

The child stayed home the following day, his last day of the school year.

Following a May meeting with school officials, Collingswood Police and Camden County Prosecutor's Office, there have been an increased number of calls to police from the district. "Some of it is just typical little-kid behavior," Megan Irwin, a teacher at a nearby school and mother of two children who attend Collingswood schools, told Philly.com. "Never in my years of teaching have I ever felt uncomfortable handling a situation or felt like I didn't know how to handle a situation."