Around 350 seniors are set to graduate from Flathead High School, but 20 of them cannot participate in the June 3 commencement ceremony because of a May 10 break-in to carry out a prank that escalated into vandalism.

Kalispell Public Schools trustees voted 8-3 Tuesday night to bar the seniors — all of whom are young men — from joining the graduation ceremony, although they still will receive diplomas if they complete graduation requirements.

Students involved in the incident also have served school suspensions, with most lasting four to six days.

“All students are back in school with the exception of one student,” Kalispell Public Schools Superintendent Mark Flatau said Wednesday. While he wouldn’t reveal specific lengths of time, he said the suspensions were short-term — less than 10 days — with the exception of one student.

The 21 students (including one junior) involved in the incident were invited to go before the school board Tuesday night. Accompanied by parents or guardians, 15 students took the opportunity to address the board in a closed session.

One by one the students, many dressed neatly in button-down shirts, went into a closed hearing before the board. Some parents wrapped an arm around their child, patted them on the back or walked in silence.

When the meeting was reopened to the public, emotions ran high among trustees, students and parents as board members deliberated and ultimately voted to bar the seniors from participating in graduation.

A few trustees were at a crossroads while deliberating if the Flathead administrators’ recommendation not to allow students to participate in graduation was an appropriate consequence for students across the board.

With exasperation, Frank Miller, who voted for the motion, emphasized his hope that it would be a lesson learned for the teens.

“It really bothers me that you guys didn’t think at all about this. If this motion passes, I’m sincerely hoping it’s the best lesson we taught you in the 13 years you went to school — that you’ve got to think before you act on things,” Miller said. “So yeah it hurts now, yeah it hurts your families and I’m sorry for that, I am, but by golly I hope this sticks with you for the rest of your life no matter how this motion goes.”

Trustee Mary Ruby voted against the recommendation in the spirit of giving students a second chance, but not without some sternness in her voice.

“I’ve always been the advocate and this is going to be the last time I’m going to do this with this group of kids. They screwed up. They have the high-school safety net to hold them for the very last time,” Ruby said. “I’m going to vote against the motion because I believe in giving them one more chance.”

Trustee Anna Marie Bailey, who also voted against the recommendation, agreed with Ruby. What vexed Bailey was the one-size-fits-all punishment.

“I just have a really hard time not putting [students] on some different tiers. I wasn’t there, [but] we saw the video. It’s just so sad, you guys,” Bailey said earlier in the meeting, her voice trembling.

While trustee Mary Tepas empathized with family members who wouldn’t see their children step to the stage in a cap and gown because of a “stupid mistake,” she couldn’t ignore the fact that all of the students “knew they were breaking into this school.”

“I’d love to be able say this person left early, and this person cleaned up, and this person saw what was happening and left, but when it comes down to it, you all went into a locked building that was unlocked for you through a broken window,” Tepas said. “Whether or not you knew the window was broken, you all came in at the same time.”

Tepas also was concerned that students who fled the scene as vandalism began didn’t immediately report the incident.

“I’m glad to see some of you are remorseful for what happened, but other than maybe one or two of you, I really think you’re more sorry that you got caught rather than being sorry that it happened,” Tepas said.

While trustee Don Murray said he personally might have distinguished between levels of involvement for each student and dispensed consequences accordingly, he saw his role as a trustee to ensure administrators completed a thorough investigation and support an appropriate recommendation, which he did.

“My role, in my view, as a school board trustee is to ensure the administration has gone about the investigation appropriately that they have investigated the matter throughly and the recommendation they make is within the sideboards of what is fair and just and legal,” Murray said. “It may not be the one I would make. I might make a different one. I might single out certain students for harsher punishment and lenient with others, but it’s not my role to substitute my judgment for that of the administration.

“They know you’re great students and great kids and they know, like all of us know, we did things like this, too, and sometimes we got away with it and sometimes there were consequences, so it’s very difficult for them to do what they’re recommending be done to you boys and to your families,” Murray said.

Board Chairman Joe Brenneman agreed with Murray, noting that after “grilling administration thoroughly tonight,” and determine administrators weren’t acting out of “malice or revenge,” he supported the motion.

“They have articulated the reasons for this being an appropriate action to my satisfaction. As Don had pointed out, we have clearly have conducted our investigations. In support of what Frank has said, you made decisions that you had a lot of chances to get out of this,” Brenneman said.

Brenneman said he was glad the incident didn’t lead to someone being seriously injured.

“The good thing that this isn’t anything that anybody isn’t going to have long-term suffering from,” Brenneman said.

Trustee Steve Davis’ initial reaction was that the punishment wasn’t severe enough, however, he ultimately voted against the recommendation. Davis was concerned it wasn’t equitable when considering a prank at Glacier High School roughly a week before Flathead’s that also involved students entering the building without permission using a key.

“I agree with administration. I believe they are just in what they have come forth with. I have great reservations about going along with it because an appearance of inequity between our two high schools in the fact that one high school pulled off a prank that was a criminal trespass, a prank with much less damage and much less consequence to the building, and I’m torn,” Davis said.

Davis added that he felt the district had some accountability for the Flathead incident because students involved in the Glacier prank weren’t brought before the board, which might have deterred Flathead students from pulling the prank.

“A lot of you guys I’ve known since you were young and it disappoints me greatly that it even happened, but as a school district I believe we hold some responsibility for this second prank happening because it wasn’t brought to the board at all,” Davis said.

After the vote was recorded, one parent was left wiping away tears while others muttered their dismay or disbelief and headed toward the exit.

Flatau later said the board made an appropriate decision.

“No matter where you sit at the table, this is a very unfortunate situation and it is a difficult matter whatever view you take — whether trustee, parent, student, school administrator. I felt the board did nice job in each hearing and wrestled hard with a very tough issue and made an appropriate decision,” Flatau said.

While the board and administrators have delivered school consequences, the students still may face criminal charges such as trespassing and criminal mischief.

Damage to the school included broken windows, water fountains ripped from the wall, sawdust strewn throughout the building and a broken moose sculpture.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.