A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

12 May 2016

Prosecuting & punishing the punks who vandalized FHS

Sometime in the wee hours of Tuesday, 10 May, a group that may have numbered 21 broke into and vandalized Flathead High School. No one was injured. The vandals may all be FHS students, but that’s not yet proven.

Was it a student prank? No.

Should the schools punish the students? Some school authorities will find that tempting, but they should resist the impulse.

This was not an academic violation, such as cheating on a test. It was a violation of Montana’s criminal code.

Let school authorities focus on drawing up the bill and repairing the damage.

Let our criminal justice system handle the investigation and bring charges if warranted.

Should the miscreants be prosecuted as adults? Quite possibly, some should.

If found guilty, should they be sentenced to jail? Yes, but for no more than one day. Sentence them to community service, such as picking up trash along the highway. And make them and their parents pay for repairing the school.