A Michigan school district is under fire after allegedly bringing students to a restaurant with a stripper pole lounge — and supposedly threatening legal action against the trustee who exposed the scandal.
The incident reportedly took place on Nov. 16, when sixth-grade band and orchestra students from Hart Middle School in Rochester Hills visited Detroit hotspot Niki’s Pizza following a performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Located in the Greektown neighborhood, Niki’s Pizza operates in conjunction with Niki’s Lounge, a risqué nightclub.
“The students were moved from Niki’s Pizza due to a lack of available space to the Lounge where they tried out some pole dancing,” Rochester Community Schools (RCS) trustee and parent Andrew Weaver alleged in a Jan. 6 Facebook post.
In addition to a photo of the children playing on the poles, Weaver’s post, which was shared with followers of his blog Finding the Right Answer, includes images of Niki’s adult lounge scene and drinks menu.
Weaver’s post quickly made the rounds on social media, where it was shared on Twitter by @LibsofTikTok. RCS subsequently blocked the controversial account as the story picked up traction.
In a statement to the Daily Caller, RCS executive director of strategic communication Lori Grein denied that the district took students “to an eatery attached to a ‘strip club.’”
“Proposed field trips are evaluated by a curriculum team and require a parental/guardian permission slip,” she continued.
“The safety and security of our students, staff and school community is always our priority.”
Niki’s owner Agatha Kefallinos told the outlet that the school would have known about the seating arrangements when it made its reservation.
“Typically when we have a group of over 100 people, we give them the option of going to our second floor, which is operated as a club on Saturday nights but is closed during the day,” she explained.
