<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11137566#post11137566 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
That and superglueing all the school locks.
I wouldnt be doing that read this
High school pranks cost big bucks
By Shane Anthony
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/05/2007
St. Charles â€" High school high jinks may sound like harmless fun, but students who pull pranks are paying a big price as school districts and their insurers are going after damages. TALK
High school high jinks: How much is too much?
Take the case of the two girls, both juniors, who stuck extra strength glue in door locks at St. Charles West High School in February 2006. Now they find themselves and their mothers named in a lawsuit filed last month seeking nearly $11,000 for the damage the prank caused.
"Every dollar we can save is basically tax dollars that we collect from all our schools," said Gary VanMeter, executive director of the Missouri United School Insurance Council, a pooled insurance group that covers more than 470 public school districts and community colleges. "The more we can save, the more we can hold down insurance costs."
The St. Charles West students and their parents declined to comment. Advertisement
Mick Willis, the St. Charles district's assistant superintendent for business, said employees tried to fix the locks, in some cases using blow torches to reheat the glue. Ultimately, the school had to replace 36 locks and eight doors, he said.
The district filed a police report, he said, but administrators decided not to pursue criminal charges. He declined to talk about other discipline against the girls.
Willis said the district prefers to handle such issues without criminal charges.
"It's kind of like a family," he said. "You do stuff in house if you can do it in house and just generally take care of it that way."
The district submitted a claim to the school insurance council, which turned to attorney Kurt J. Dolan, who filed the lawsuit.
Dolan said the suit named the mothers and the students as a way to recover more of the money. Missouri law limits parents' liability, he said. They are liable only for up to $2,000 in damages â€" per case â€" done by children in their custody under age 18. Dolan said the lawsuit could make the girls liable for the remaining amount. That could even lead to their paychecks being garnisheed.
VanMeter said lawsuits aren't unusual when schools try to recover money lost to pranks.
Criminal charges also are common. Two Alton High School students were charged last week with felony criminal property damage and misdemeanor trespassing for driving across school athletic fields and causing $22,000 in damage.
Four others could be charged in that case, too, and the students could face expulsion. Principal Phil Trapani said he has been told the criminal charges may be reduced if the students agree to restitution.
"You've got to treat it seriously," Trapani said. "Yeah, maybe they were just having some fun, but teenagers have got to know when they've gone too far."
Pranks have a long history in St. Louis. Some that have made headlines were more dangerous than others.
An Oakville High School senior was sentenced to 60 days in jail in June after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of property damage and recklessly causing an explosion. He admitted making a crude explosive device and setting it off in an empty locker near the school's cafeteria on April 19. The locker was dented, but no one was injured.
Four Lindenwood University students took a 125-pound fiberglass cow from the New Town development in St. Charles in May 2006. Police found the statue in the garage of a home near St. Peters. Police had said they wouldn't seek charges if the students made restitution. The cow was not damaged.
In 1985, vandals slashed or let the air out of school bus tires at several St. Louis area districts, sometimes leading to canceled or delayed classes. In one case, four Hazelwood East High School students agreed to pay $3,000 each to the school district for slashing tires on 72 buses.
But Trapani said taking pranks seriously is more important than money or punishment. He said districts also want to send a clear message that students could get hurt or killed, too, he said.
"It isn't because we like to punish," he said. "It's because these kids are still young with their whole lives ahead of them."
As for the girls at St. Charles West, Willis said talks were under way between the insurance company and the families to settle the matter out of court.
