Springboro student to appear in court today for allegedly breaking into high school to cheat on test

A 17-year-old Springboro student found twice inside Springboro High School early Thursday allegedly trying to cheat on a test has been charged in juvenile court with causing the school’s closing for the day.

The Clearcreek Twp. boy was in detention, pending a 1 p.m. hearing today in court in Lebanon.

“The high school had to be closed for the day until investigation could be completed,” Officer Aaron Nicely concluded his summary of the offenses filed in Warren County Juvenile Court.

School officials said a miscommunication between custodians who twice “escorted” the student out of the school on South Main Street and administrators delayed a call to police and prompted the district to decide to close the school.

“At first, students ready to enter Springboro High School were held outside of the building, while the sweep was occurring. After more time, Springboro Schools decided to close Springboro High School completely for the day,” according to a school statement.

“While a staff member was aware of this incident earlier (Friday) morning, administrative staff was not made aware until close to 6:20 a.m. We apologize for this gap in response, and ensure you that this situation will be remedied.”

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The student is scheduled for a detention hearing today in the court in Lebanon on charges of breaking and entering, inducing panic, theft and criminal trespassing.

He is alleged to have stolen “a key from the school and used it to make entry after hours on several occasions,” most recently at 1:13 a.m. and 2:06 a.m. Thursday.

He is alleged to have hidden from staff “several times” and been “escorted out by night time janitorial staff.”

Nicely said the student “said he was trying to cheat on a test,” in the charging documents.

The school district statement said the decision to close the school “was made as a precaution, for the safety of our students and staff.”

According to the school statement, about 6:20 a.m. Thursday, administrators learned the boy entered the high school building overnight.

“A custodian found the student in the building around 1:52 a.m., carrying only a school folder. The student was escorted out of the building by the custodian,” according to the statement.

About 2:06 a.m., the student re-entered the building and was noticed by a custodian about 3 a.m. and “escorted” out.

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Administrators notified police at 6:20 a.m.

“A sweep was issued of the entire Springboro High School building, as a precautionary measure for the safety of our students and staff. Unfortunately, this sweep overlapped with the morning arrival of students.”

Police determined the student used a key from a staff member to get into the school, according to the school statement.

The key, confiscated by police “was only usable in Springboro High School,” according to the statement.

The key is a “hard-key, not a key-fob or badge.”

As a result of this, Springboro Schools is in the process of having all key locks at Springboro High School replaced, in order to ensure no copies were illegally made or that any incident similar to this can happen again.”

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Also at 5:15 a.m., a fire alarm went off inside Springboro High School, due to “a faulty sensor, in a separate area of the high school, and has no correlation to the student entering the building,” the statement said.

Police concluded “there is absolutely no threat to the building, our students, or our staff,” but the school will remain on Thursday, according to the statement.

The school is scheduled to be open, at normal time, with classes resuming in full (Friday) morning,” according to the statement.

School officials declined to comment on the status or identify the school staff involved.

“At this point, the names have not been released, as they are working with the p olice in their investigation at this time,” Scott Marshall, district communications coordinator, said in an email response to questions.

“The Police Division supports the school decision to close the school until a comprehensive search could be conducted,” Police Chief Jeff Kruithoff said in a separate statement.

Police declined to release the investigation report or comment further.

MORE: Student last sentenced in school threat cases

The school was closed in April 2016 after a student bomb threat prompted officials to bring in a special contractor to ensure it was safe in the building.

The student’s parents paid reimbursed the district $1,289 for the cost of the contract and other expenses of the school closure and evacuation the day before.

The judge rejected a jail sentence for the student, who was 18 at at the time and prosecuted in adult court.

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