Food fight, fire alarms break 'quiet' year at Round Lake High
Round Lake Area Unit District 116 CEO Ben Martindale said he recently noted how Round Lake High School has had a quiet year in terms of student discipline issues.
But, he admits, he should have kept his mouth shut.
"It jinxed us," he said Thursday. "After I said it, boink, the bottom falls out."
One juvenile was charged Wednesday at Round Lake High School where three fire alarms were pulled and two food fights broke out, Round Lake Police officials said.
Police and Martindale chalked up incidents to students getting antsy on their last day of classes for the school year.
"Seriously, it's been a real good year as far as discipline goes at the high school," Martindale said. "We even commented about it at the board level, and I told them I couldn't even remember the last time I had to expel a student. But, of course, it jinxed us."
The 16-year-old student has been remanded to the Depke Juvenile Justice System where he is awaiting official charges for pulling the fire alarm, said Round Lake Police Chief Mike Gillette. It's unclear what charges will be filed until after the case is reviewed in juvenile court.
In total, 14 squad cars were called to the high school, along with two police chiefs to try and maintain order, Gillette said.
Two fire alarms were pulled in the morning and the third was pulled in the afternoon, he added. The food fights took place during student lunch breaks.
"In the last week of school. Kids tend to get a bit antsy and start to horseplay," he said. "But, when 1,800 kids start to do a little horseplay, it can turn into a lot of problems."
Gillette said he expects school officials will handle discipline for most students involved.
Martindale added he is unclear what, if any, discipline will be handed out due to the multiple incidents.
"I am not sure at this point if there will be any major disciplinary issues aside from the student who was charged for the fire alarm," he said. "Yesterday was definitely weird having that many incidents in one day, especially after the quiet year we had. Like I said, it really has been a good year."