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This Teen Got Suspended for Trying to Sell His High School on Craigslist

Only $12,725!

by River Donaghey
May 24 2018, 5:20pm

Screenshot via Scheele's Facebook

Here's the thing with pranks: They're almost always mean. More often than not, they're just vehicles to laugh at someone else's expense, to terrify your neighborhood or feed toothpaste Oreos to unsuspecting victims or whatever. So when the rare prank comes along that doesn't hinge on hurting someone else, said prankster should be applauded for doing a funny without fucking up another person's day, right? Take, for example, the high school seniors who recently staged that brilliant fake car crash at their school—everyone from the principal to the cops gave them props for that one. But unfortunately, not everyone can take a joke.

Presumably inspired by that viral prank story, Missouri high school student Kylan Scheele hatched a plan to pull a seemingly innocuous and "laid back" prank to cap off his senior year: by putting his high school up for sale on Craigslist for the low, low price of $12,725. "Huge 20+ room facility," Scheele's prank post read, praising the school's "newly built football field," "huge parking lot," and close proximity to Walmart "for convenience."

Scheele's school administrators were significantly less chill than he expected, though, and he's been suspended and banned from walking at graduation—all because of the post, FOX 4 reports.

"I decided to say the reason we’re selling this is because of 'the loss of students,' because the senior class is graduating,” Scheele told FOX 4. The school, though, read the line as a potential threat and reported it to the cops. "They tried to relate it back to all the recent school shootings and everything," he continued, "but I don’t see how it was a threat at all."

The local police investigated and concluded that Scheele wasn't a potential problem, though they asked him to delete the post for good measure, which he did. But even then, the school refused to walk back on the graduation ban.

"Out of an abundance of caution, administrators and police investigated and determined there was not a credible threat," the Independence School District wrote in a statement. "A student who makes a real or implied threat, whether it is deemed credible or not, will face discipline."

"A three-day suspension, sure, but denying me the ability to walk? That’s a lifetime moment," Scheele told FOX 4. "I think they’re overreacting."

Now, there's an online petition with more than a thousand signatures asking the school to reconsider the punishment. As of now, though, it doesn't look like Scheele's going to get his cap and gown experience. If nothing else, at least the 18-year-old can feel great pride in his ability to craft the rare prank that doesn't hurt anyone, save for a few cautious school administrators.


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