BELTON, Mo. — Several students were suspended Wednesday from Belton High School after a senior prank earlier in the morning.
Tuesday was the official last day for seniors and more activities were planned for this week. However, a group of seniors were sent home Wednesday morning after they broke into the school and trashed the building.
Senior Brianna Bullinger said the scene was chaotic. Bullinger was one of the students involved in the prank.
“Your adrenaline is going. Are we going to get in, are we going to get in and then we hear, it’s in, they’re in and we were all like ahhhh,” she said.
Once inside, the seniors threw party streamers, balloons and confetti all over the school. They even painted windows with washable paint.
“Nothing that would hurt anybody, we were just excited to throw balloons,” said one student.
“We just wanted everyone to see it and know how good our senior prank was and then we were all going to clean it up,” said senior Alexa Drummond.
While the prank itself may not seem serious, students did break into their school and that’s something the district isn’t taking lightly.
“We had two or three individuals help lower somebody in through the ventilation system and then let others in from the outside,” said Superintendent Andrew Underwood. “We will try to handle those maters within the school discipline guidelines and I’m just saddened they chose to do that to a school they attended for so many years.”
Underwood said the building looked like it had been ransacked.
“We understand that that’s wrong, that is breaking and entering, we know that. But we just think they are taking it to an extreme that it doesn’t need to be taken to.”
As is the case for all suspended students, any school activities are off limits during that suspension, which also includes this weekend’s graduation.
However, all of the suspended students will still receive a diploma.
As far as criminal charges, Superintendent Underwood made it clear the school would hand its students on a district level. However, he believes there may have been non-students involved in the prank. If that’s the case, those individuals could be charged with breaking and entering, which is a felony. They could also face vandalism charges.
