Kansas City school districts warn parents, students about destructive TikTok challenge
by: Juan Cisneros, Heidi Schmidt
Posted: Sep 15, 2021 / 09:10 AM CDT
Updated: Sep 15, 2021 / 05:40 PM CDT
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Turner School District is warning parents and students about a viral TikTok trend that challenges students to steal and destroy school property.
"To be clear, I will not stand for this type of criminal behavior and disrespect to our school and our staff," Turner Middle School principal Bill Weber wrote in a letter to parents.
Turner USD says they have encountered several incidents related to the "challenge" and ask parents to warn their students about the consequences that it could lead to if they choose to participate.
"Our buildings are meant to be a safe, clean space for our students and staff and we will not tolerate the destruction and theft of school property," the district wrote on Facebook. "There will be consequences for students who choose to engage in this behavior, possibly including the involvement of law enforcement."
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The district is also urging for students with information that can help stop the incidents from happening to share it with staff members.
The Kansas City, Kansas School District also notified parents of the destructive trend Wednesday after finding damage in some of its buildings.
The district said students have destroyed soap dispensers, damaged toilets and caused additional damage in bathrooms at middle schools and high schools.
"At some of our schools, we have been forced to close some of the bathrooms in order to make needed repairs," the letter to KCK parents said.
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Shawnee Mission School District said that bathrooms in at least two of its schools were damaged on Wednesday, but did not go into detail about specifics.
Olathe North High School has dealt with similar issues involving the trend.
As a district, we have seen a few incidents of this TikTok trend occurring in some of our buildings. We do not have a cost estimate, as any damage reported has been minimal in nature. I can also confirm that the principal sent a message earlier this week to families as a proactive effort to partner with families as we work together to remind students about the importance of being respectful of their surroundings and the consequences of any vandalism on school property.
Becky Grubaugh – Communication and Media Manager – Olathe Public Schools
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