Teaneck Council Asks Prosecutors to Drop Charges in High School Prank

Town council members in Teaneck passed a resolution Tuesday night urging authorities not to prosecute the 63 students arrested earlier this month in a school prank. 

The resolution, passed during a meeting packed with parents, comes after officers say they found urine in hallways and extensive damage throughout the school May 2. The school district's superintendent said there was no evidence to back up the report.

"They are really good kids, and it was just a prank gone wrong," one parent told the council. 

Linda Harrison, with the Teaneck Township Education Association, said no one is denying that the students did something wrong in the prank, but they shouldn't have to face criminal charges.

"There obviously have to be some consequences because they broke into a school, but we feel that their futures should not be ruined because they were young and it was a mistake," she said. 

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office doesn't have to accept the resolution. The office has yet to announce if the students will be prosecuted for the prank, but a decision is expected soon.

The students are all being allowed to go to the school's prom and will be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies, school officials say.

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