About 30 Athens High School seniors will face disciplinary action for campus vandalism.
AHS custodians came to school at around 6 a.m. Friday to find a mess from a senior prank.
Most of it was strictly kids’ stuff. About a dozen eggs had been thrown at school office windows and cracked open on the sidewalk, and several trees on campus had been rolled with toilet paper.
The barrels were more worrying. At least 10 55-gallon plastic drums were placed at the school’s main entrance and the entrance near the gymnasium.
The barrels were full of a mix of cat litter and water, but their labels claimed they contained caustic substances. Their discovery prompted Athens ISD officials to call the Athens Fire Department.
“We called in a haz-mat crew, because the barrels had ‘corrosive’ stickers on them,” Athens ISD Superintendent Fred Hayes said. “The barrels were filled with water, but they previously contained cleaning fluid.”
Hayes said that some of the barrels had water running out of them when they were found. The water was found to contain cleaning fluid residue, which could potentially cause injury through skin contact.
Custodial staff were forced to work overtime to clean up the eggs and toilet paper. Hayes said the district is working on hiring an overnight security guard to patrol the high school throughout next week.
AHS Interim Principal Meg Johns said the barrels probably contained cat litter to make them difficult to move. The litter had come straight from bags, she said.
“There were probably 30 kids who were involved,” Johns said. “It probably happened between 2 (a.m.) and 2:30 (a.m.).” She added that the prank did not delay the start of school or interfere with any student activities.
“We had a number of activities planned for today...and each and every one of them went along perfectly,” she said.
Hayes said that, in his experience, senior pranks aren’t uncommon near the end of a school year.
“Often, seniors will do some kind of prank to leave their mark,” he said. “It crossed over the line when those barrels had the corrosive materials in them.
“Pranks that seem like little pranks end up being something of a concern.”
The vandalism is still being investigated within the school district. Hayes said campus video footage from Thursday night and early Friday morning is being reviewed.
He said the vandals could face criminal charges, such as disruption of school activities, a Class C misdemeanor.
“It could be Class C, or it could be more serious,” Hayes said.
Johns said the students will likely be fined to pay for the custodians’ overtime work. She said it was unlikely they would face suspension or criminal charges, however.
“They’ll still be able to walk across the stage,” Johns said. “We’re not going to punish them that way.”
“We’re hoping that, based on the consequences done to the students, it will discourage students from doing it next year.”
AISD Assistant Superintendent Mike Green said the students’ punishment would probably be decided jointly between the high school and district administrators.
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e-mail dgordon@athensreview.com
