Former Lakota East High School principal Rob Burnside says he would make the same decision again, even though helping a homeless student ultimately cost him his job.
Landerius “DeDe” Hayes was a student at the Ohio high school when instability at home left him without a safe place to live. At times, Hayes said he slept in a car to stay warm.
His situation became more complicated when his mother moved outside the school district. Because Hayes no longer had an eligible address, he was told he could no longer attend Lakota East. Burnside decided to allow him to continue coming to class anyway.
Burnside and his wife, Angel, eventually welcomed Hayes into their home and became his legal guardians.
But the principal’s decision to allow Hayes to attend school while he was technically unenrolled led to a district investigation. Burnside said he was eventually given the option of stepping down or going through the termination process.
Hayes even offered to leave the Burnsides’ home and return to his mother in hopes of saving Burnside’s career.
Burnside refused.
“DeDe, you’re part of this family,” he recalled telling the teenager.
After 31 years in education, Burnside left his position. He told CBS News that he has no regrets, asking, “What value can we put on the life of a young person?”
Hayes has since graduated from another high school and is working toward becoming an aviation mechanic.