Remember when schools across the area were closing in anticipation of the Great Ice Storm of 2007? We told you then about a fake report from the Humble ISD regarding school closings — seems someone posing as district spokeswoman Karen Collier e-mailed a variety of media outlets to say that Humble schools would be closed for two days, resulting in a sharp attendance drop. Well, now we know who police say was responsible: Scott Franklin Willis, an 18-year-old who was arrested Tuesday in connection with the hoax.
Officials say Willis, posing at Collier, e-mailed media outlets at about 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15 to say that classes at Humble schools would be canceled Jan. 16 and 17 because of bad weather. The message ended up on the Chronicle's website and on local TV broadcasts and on school-alerts.com, which Willis allegedly notified posing as a new Humble ISD employee. As a result, there was a 22 percent decrease from average daily attendance in Humble schools on Jan. 16 and 17, a drop that district officials say has a high price tag: "The high absenteeism resulted in the loss of state aid conservatively estimated at $170,000 per day," district spokeswoman Jamie Mount told the Chronicle.
Willis, a student in the Humble ISD, is charged with making a false alarm or report related to a public school, a Class A misdemeanor. Collier — the real one this time — said the district is still trying to determine what disciplinary action should be taken against him.
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This kid is my new hero--I hope he becomes the next Mumia.
He definitely has the whole defiant stare thing going for him. Either that or he's constipated.