A high school prank led to officials denying the senior behind the prank from attending his graduation.
Kylan Scheele was barred by officials in the Independence School District from attending graduation over the weekend, reported the Kansas City Star.
The 18-year-old posted on Craigslist as his senior prank. The post listed Truman High School as for sale at the price of $12,725, with various details about the facility.
The post included the satirical context that the building would be put up for sale due to the “loss” of students coming up.
Scheele said he meant the “loss” as students graduating but the district said that the “loss” seemed to refer to a threat and got the police involved. After officers located Scheele and heard his story they did not find a credible threat and didn’t pursue criminal charges.
When Scheele went to school the next day, though, he was suspended for three days and banned from graduation.
“Any student who makes a real or implied threat, whether it is deemed credible or not, will face discipline,” the district said in a statement. “Students who make a real or implied threat to graduation or graduates will not be allowed to attend or walk at graduation.”
A parent who was surfing Craigslist initially alerted district officials to the posting.
Scheele was upset over the punishment and the ACLU of Missouri brought a lawsuit against the district alleging that no one would find the posting a threat, arguing that his free speech rights were violated when he was punished by the district.
However, Friday night, May 25, just before graduation on Saturday, a judge ruled in favor of the district, reported WDAF.
“A three-day suspension, sure, but denying me the ability to walk, that’s a lifetime moment,” Scheele said. “I think they’re overreacting.”
Scheele said he wishes he had worded the post differently but said his intentions were harmless.
“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.
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