The senior class president at East Paulding High School has been forbidden from attending his graduation ceremony after he participated in an early-morning spray-painting raid.
Jacob Zimmerman, 17, was among two dozen students and recent graduates charged with a felony offense of interference with government property after they were accused of defacing property at and around the school last month.
Zimmerman admitted painting a skull and crossbones on the road outside the school, saying it was an annual tradition for seniors. But he said he left the scene before others moved to the school and painted vehicles and buildings, causing $7,500 in damage.
The school system suspended him for the duration of his high school career, sending him to an alternative school. Officials would not discuss his case or the others, so it’s unclear whether all received the same punishment. Zimmerman thinks they did.
Unlike most of the others, he appealed the decision, and on Tuesday the school board denied his appeal.
Then a school board member made a motion to add more punishment: prohibiting Zimmerman from attending his graduation ceremony. The teen said Wednesday that the board voted 6-1 in favor of the motion.
“It really feels like they did it out of spite because I went against them,” Zimmerman said.
Board members said they couldn't talk about their vote for various legal reasons, including student privacy and litigation.
"Until this thing is resolved, I prefer not to make a comment on it," board member Sammy McClure said. "We feel this thing is going to be appealed."
Theresa Lyons, the school board member who cast the dissenting vote, said the punishment was in keeping with the board's policy. Students who are suspended generally do not participate in extracurricular activities such as graduation, she said. Lyons said she "respectfully" disagreed with the board's decision.
The student’s mother, Denise Zimmerman, said her son was on track to be the class valedictorian. It’ll be difficult for him to win the honor while attending the alternative school, where no advanced placement classes are offered. He’ll have to keep up with his four AP classes on his own, she said.
Zimmerman and the other defendants are to meet Friday with Paulding District Attorney Dick Donovan.
Donovan has the option of altering the charges and said he’s reached a decision that he will reveal at the 2 p.m. meeting at the county courthouse.
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