Spring Hill High vandalism 'in the school's hands' regarding potential charges

As Spring Hill High School resumed regular activities Monday following last week's vandalism incident, it appears that any disciplinary action from here on out will be decided by the Maury County school district.

Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland said no charges or arrests have been made in association with the incident, which occurred in the early morning hours last Friday. The disarray and damages were so extensive that the school was forced to close on Friday.

Rowland added that, based on the initial investigation, he believes the incident involved more than 90 students total as part of a "school event," or "senior prank," though "just a handful" might have taken things a little too far.

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"They were having what we were referred to as a school activity or event that got way out of hand, and after we put everything together, it's pretty much in the school system's court, I guess you could say as far as any prosecution," Rowland said. "It was a school event that definitely crossed some boundaries."

This resulted in damages to school property, fluids spilled among the hallways, as well as destroying more than 40 supply packs designated as part of The Well Outreach's JetPack program, which provides food and other necessities to students.

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"It was 90-plus students that we identified that had some type of part in the senior prank, but it was a little more than a handful that just took it too far," Rowland said. "That's the thing, if you prosecute one you'll have to prosecute all of them. And it's pretty difficult to do that because it was a school event, one they may need to rethink."

Maury County Public Schools Communications Director Jack Cobb said, as far as the school's side, if any suspects have been identified, as well as whether any further disciplinary action will be taken, is yet to be determined.

MCPS has declined to comment at this time.

And while senior pranks have been a traditional sendoff for graduating students over the years, Rowland said there's never been an incident like this he can recall, especially one that has required local authorities.

"This was something that was kind of new to me until we got into discussion, and apparently there are some schools in our district that do activities like this, but none of them have ever gotten to this extent," Rowland said.

"For us, it tied up a lot of manpower and time, and really it shouldn't have happened."

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Spring Hill High vandalism 'in the school's hands' regarding potential charges