A Strongsville City Schools administrator summoned police to the district’s office this week because someone jokingly listed Strongsville High School for sale on Craigslist for $1.

There was a brief mention of the incident on Cleveland.com’s Strongsville police blotter this morning, and we found the post that apparently freaked the administrators out and got ahold of the call for service report from the Strongsville Police Department documenting it.

Reading the post, it’s unclear what laws the administrator believes were broken and what he expected police to do about a clearly satirical and joking post online (the administrator did not pick up up his office and personal phone when Scene called multiple times today). There were no threats and nobody would actually believe that Strongsville High School was actually up for sale… on Craigslist… for a dollar. It’s pretty clearly written by a student just having a laugh. You can go to the post here or just check out this screenshot of it:

Strongsville.png

Here’s the text from the post:

“Ohio School of Excellence with Distinction—”… And strikes, and bomb threats, and gun threats.
SHS was built in 1964 and will be turning 50 years old this year. If you double that you get 100 if you divide that by 2 you get 50 & if you do some more math you get 666, proof this school is satan, coincidence I think not! That’s why the school is now up for sale for a low price starting at $1, or best offers (willing to trade for a jar of nutella). Motivated Sellers! Tenants willing to move out over night!
★ 2,700 Students (83%, 12% Black, 5% who think they’re black)
★ 119 Teachers. . . 120 if you include Tracy Linscott
★ Budget of $12 Million *potholes filled with rocks* *lights turn off during class hours sometimes to save electricity*
★ Hallways furnished with fake trees
★ White girls that can’t even
★ 138 Class Rooms
★ 14 Bathrooms (most stall doors not included), 4 with the foamy soap 😉
★ Salvageable courtyard
★ A hot police officer
★ 3 gyms, Stadium, and Baseball fields

Scene just received the call for service report from the Strongsville Police Department. The caller, Mark Donnelly, is the Strongsville City Schools director of business services and technology. He called just before noon on Tuesday and wanted police to come to the school district’s office on Pearl Road. The narrative written by the dispatcher states:

HAVE OFFICER RESPOND TO THE SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE. HE NEEDS TO REPORT THAT A STUDENT PUT AN AD ON CRAIGSLIST PUTTING THE H.S. UP FOR SALE.

Fortunately police and the city prosecutor were more rational than the school administrators. Yesterday, police updated the report and said they won’t do anything about it.

ADDED 5/22/2014 PER 7152….. SPOKE WITH CITY PROSECUTOR, NO CRIMINAL ACTION TO BE TAKEN. 7152 SPOKE WITH COM AND ADVISED HIM OF THE SAME.

Donnelly_Complaint.png

This article appears in May 21-27, 2014.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.

5 replies on “Strongsville School Administrators Called Police To Report A Joke Craigslist Ad Listing Strongsville High School For Sale For $1”

  1. instead of punishing the kid they should realize hes a comedian and help him go that route instead of trying to put him in prison. after all i thought thats what schools were for is to try to get you a career in life, not try to throw you in prison. schools lack the judgement of seeing what kids are really good at and lead them towards the right career path. obviously the admin has no sort of comedy in there bones and cant see that. most likely a student posted this either out of a grudge or just for a laugh. either way the kid is funny and someone should guide them into trying to work towards stand up or something.

  2. how do you know if it was a student who posted this? it may have been an adult.

  3. Was sending an officer over really necessary? No, not in the least bit. Ladies and gentlemen, your tax dollars at work!

  4. Hmmmm I have had police come to my place for emergencies. I served free beer at a gallery event. Whew! I’m glad they stopped me. I must have been out of my mind . That was really dangerous!

  5. But they refused to punish the teachers’ bad/criminal behavior before/during/after the strike…lovely

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