CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — Social media posts from high schools across the country show extensive damage caused by vandals as they take part in apparent senior pranks.
Students have targeted area high schools recently, including Burns High School in Lawndale.
Cleveland County School Board member Ronnie Grigg said students couldn’t have gotten inside the school Thursday night without help from staff.
There was trash everywhere and floors were coated with baby oil. Crickets were released in an office and microwaves and potted plants were tossed in toilets.
“A bunch of kids turned loose in the school building,” Grigg said.
Grigg said staff and parents were frustrated.
“To see this happen is a total disrespect for the school, the school board, and all the teachers and all the students that didn’t participate in this,” Grigg said.
Board members, including Grigg, said oily floors and grease-smeared onto doorknobs were major safety hazards.
“(It) could create a problem if there was an event in the school and you had to get out of there fast,” Grigg said.
He’s convinced someone on the staff played a role and must be held accountable.
“We make sure that this kind of stuff never happens again,” Grigg said. “Take this incident right here and make an example of this incident.”
The school board doesn’t manage staff members so it would be the superintendent’s responsibility to make that happen, he said.
Grigg said it’s disheartening to see school property treated poorly, especially since the board recently approved $12 million in renovations.
In the past week, Sun Valley and Mallard Creek high schools have also been vandalized.
These cases are under investigation.
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