A Hays CISD campus-based security monitor resigned after they allowed several Hays High students to enter campus before school hours to conduct an unauthorized senior prank.
Tim Savoy, Hays CISD public information officer, said the incident occurred in the early morning hours before school on May 24, which was the day after a supervised and authorized prank was conducted on Hays High principal David Pierce.
Savoy said four to six students were given keys by the campus-based security monitor to enter the campus and perform the unauthorized prank. The students “didn’t do any damage” other than move desks out of several classrooms and toilet-papered some areas, Savoy said.
The before-hours prank and the supervised prank on Pierce were not related. Students involved in the unauthorized prank are also facing school-related disciplinary measures.
“They (the monitor) resigned in lieu of any disciplinary action in using poor judgement on giving students a set of keys,” Savoy said.
He added the monitor was not a security guard, which are hired at the district level and are on-call 24 hours a day. Monitors are hired for specific campuses and operate during school hours or for after school activities to open or lock-up facilities, Savoy said.
Senior pranks are something Hays CISD watches for as the school year comes to a close, Savoy said. He added some pranks are authorized, while others are not.
He cited a 2016 senior prank involving a motocross bike that was driven through the halls of Lehman High, which was not authorized beforehand.
Savoy said pranks involving Pierce or Hays High administration is something that is done annually and involves parental and staff supervision.
“If you help facilitate a controlled type of prank, it prevents something that could be elaborate and potentially dangerous,” Savoy said.
Savoy said students are also attempting to turn senior pranks into contests on social media, which increases the pressure to put on an elaborate plan.
Officially, Savoy said Hays CISD discourages senior pranks, but they “don’t throw the book” at students, with the understanding pranks are to be expected later in the school year.
“For anyone who is planning a senior prank, it stops being funny the moment it turns potentially dangerous,” Savoy said. “That’s the line we don’t want to cross, even if it’s unintentional.”
