4 students bought cookies at school. Then they got sick

Four central Texas students bought cookies from a middle school staff member that made them sick, according to a notice the school principal sent to families.

Goodnight Middle School Principal Joe Mitchell let families know about the students’ illness in a letter May 5 and shared the announcement on the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District’s website.

“We have learned that a staff member sold cookies to students,” Mitchell wrote. “Following consumption, several students reported feeling unwell. Four students have confirmed purchasing and consuming the cookies and were seen in the nurse’s office for evaluation.”

According to Mitchell, the San Marcos Police Department is investigating the students’ illnesses, and the staff member who sold the cookies to students was removed from the district.

Here's what else we know about the incident.

Students felt sick after eating the cookies

Jennifer Zamarron told the San Marcos Daily Record that her daughter ate the cookies and was “very much under the influence” after eating them. She also says her daughter had to go to the hospital for evaluation.

Grandmother Lisa McClellan told television station FOX 7 Austin that her grandson had one of the cookies and didn’t feel well after.

"He goes, I don’t know, I just didn’t feel good," she said.

Cookies had been sold at the school previously

Another woman told the outlet her son previously bought the cookies and had no issues.

"They’re just homemade cookies with icing and a filling," one parent told FOX 7. "I was raving about how great they were to my girlfriends. I was like, ‘man, these are so good, hats off to the baker,’ whoever baked them."

Mitchell, the school’s principal, said in his May 5 notice to families that it’s against the rules for teachers to sell or distribute “personal food items” to students. The principal said parents whose children are experiencing “unusual symptoms” should take them to see a doctor, and let the district know.

The cookies may have been sold on campus since November, the San Marcos Daily Record reported.

Cookies sold to students will be tested, investigation underway

Andrew Fernandez, communications coordinator for the district, did not respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment on May 8, but told the San Marcos Daily Record that the cookies were given to the San Marcos Police Department. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety will test the cookies, he said. He also said the staff member who sold the cookies to students has taken a drug test and the district is waiting for the results.

“If it is found there are drugs in these cookies, there will be termination involved for the employee,” he said, also noting that the children are OK.

The San Marcos Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY on May 8 that the department is investigating.

“Right now, investigators are working to determine if anything was in the cookies that made the students ‘feel unwell,’” the department wrote in an email to USA TODAY.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s trending team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at[email protected].