School deems Craigslist prank a threat; student now facing punishment

[jnelsoninjax]

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A senior at Truman High School will not be allowed to walk in his graduation because of a prank he pulled.

Kylan Scheele, 18, admits to posting an ad on Craigslist on Friday that listed Truman High School for sale; he said it was meant to be a joke.

“Other people were going to release live mice or, you know, building a beach in the front lobby area, and I thought let’s do something more laid back, so I just decided to post the school for sale,” Scheele said.

The ad listed several amenities including the schools newly built athletic fields, plenty of parking and a “bigger than normal dining room.” The Independence School District took issue with Kylan’s reason for the sale, which he wrote was “due to the loss of students coming up.”

“I decided to say the reason we’re selling this is because of 'the loss of students,' because the senior class is graduating,” Scheele explained.

On Wednesday, Sheele, who told FOX4 he has a 3.9 GPA, was notified that he was suspended for the remainder of the school and would not walk in Saturday’s graduation.

“A three-day suspension, sure, but denying me the ability to walk, that’s a lifetime moment,” Sheele said. “I think they’re overreacting.”

“He went and apologized and tried to make things right and in return they give him the harshest punishment possible,” Kylan’s mom, Denetra Clark said.

Detectives with the Independence Police Department investigated the incident and found no probable cause or reason to pursue criminal charges. The had Sheele delete the post and advised him to talk to school adminstrators.

“They [detectives] didn’t see a credible threat,” Clark said. “They all kind of had a little chuckle about it but they wanted him to understand you could see how other people could see it as a threat.”

A spokeswoman with the Independence School District released the following statement:

“We take student safety very seriously and appreciate the students and parents who brought this to our attention. Out of an abundance of caution, administrators and police investigated and determined there was not a credible threat. A student who makes a real or implied threat, whether it is deemed credible or not, will face discipline. Due to the heightened concern nationally with school violence, we have extra police officers for the remainder of the school year and will have additional officers at graduations for all of our high schools.”

“They tried to relate it back to all the recent school shootings and everything--they tried tying it back to that--but I don’t see how it was a threat at all,” Scheele said.

While Sheele and his mom are hoping the district will reverse its decision, the district’s spokeswoman said it “won’t be reconsidered.”

“He’s already put the effort in,” said Clark. “He’s going to get his diploma no matter what but maybe the party will start sooner.”

Looking back, Sheele said he wishes he had worded the post differently and that he regrets the outcome of his actions, but he insisted his intentions were harmless.

Source

[DocM]

Quote

Reason for sale is due to the loss of students coming up

 

Yeah, that could have been worded better ?

[techbeck]

This happened to a high school close to where I live as well.  Was on sale for $2018.  No punishment in this case as far as I know.  Even pictures and they had a couple dates posted for a showing of the property.

 

http://97zokonline.com/auburn-high-school-pulls-senior-prank-by-putting-the-school-up-for-sale-on-craigslist/

 

Anyway, it was a harmless prank.  Common sense would also dictate it is the end of the school year so loss of students does not mean someone is going to kill them all.  This is a case of overreacting and not being able to analyze properly what was said/meant.    There are a lot of o ther pranks that seniors do that  could cause damage and a lot more of a concern than this.
 

[DConnell Member]

Darn. I was going to check out the Zillow listing - $12 thousand is  a lot less expensive than the house I'm buying!

 

I fail to see any threat in the listing. It's just a harmless prank.

[adrynalyne]

3 hours ago, DocM said:

 

Yeah, that could have been worded better ?

Because that is soooo threatening. 

[FloatingFatMan]

Just now, adrynalyne said:

Because that is soooo threatening. 

It seems that some people just have no sense of humour any more...

[adrynalyne]

1 minute ago, FloatingFatMan said:

It seems that some people just have no sense of humour any more...

It would appear not. I got the joke immediately.