The Lewisville Independent School District said salesmen hawking $40 gifts for parents to students by phone are not affiliated with the school district.
Kitna Brewer said her 15-year-old son purchased one of the cheap-looking plaques for $39.90.
"They told him, 'We're selling these plaques to all the teenagers. Everybody is buying them. They're the newest, biggest hit.'" Brewer said. "Then they told him, 'Your parents will love this, but it's a surprise, so don't tell your parents.'"
But Lewisville ISD officials said the money from the plaques won't benefit the school.
Brewer said the salesman called when she wasn't home. The caller knew her son's name, and that he went to Flower Mound High School.
After a few minutes on the phone, the teenager said he'd think about buying the plaque, which the salesman said benefited his high school.
The plaque was delivered less than a week later. Brewer paid him after he told her the package was from Flower Mound High School.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Then she got the real story from her son.
Brewer admits that her son should have seen the salesman' warning not to tell his parents as a red flag.
"Yeah, it was very creepy," she said. "Luckily I was home and it was on a weekend, and it wasn't during the week."
Lewisville ISD officials said parents should be aware when someone sells something using the school's name.
"Make sure you check with the campus, because they should be able to tell you if it's bogus or not," spokeswoman Tristen Johnson said.
Brewer said the plaque she's stuck with is lightweight and "very cheap."
"They've Magic-Markered any scratches or scuffs on it," she said. "It's like a $5 plaque, basically."
But the Flower Mound mother said she plans to turn the incident into a lesson.
"I want parents to talk to your teenager and make sure they don't answer the phone and give any personal information," Brewer said.
