All of the East Paulding High School students charged with vandalizing their school’s campus will be working for the county this summer.
The 24 teenagers accepted a deal from the Paulding County District Attorney to work 400 hours of community service and pay fines. The alternative could have been five years in jail.
"We just figured we weren't left with much of a choice... it was either do that or they would do whatever they could to prosecute these kids," Denise Zimmerman – mother of class president Jacob Zimmerman -- told WSB's Sandra Parrish.
The 22 East Paulding students and two recent graduates were charged with felony interference with government property after an early morning prank that got out of hand last month.
The students spray painted the road outside the school, which the seniors claim is an annual rite of passage. But they also went onto campus and painted buildings and vehicles. A nearby neighborhood was also not immune.
Zimmerman says her son only spray painted the intersection and did not participate in the vandalism of the school itself.
"He admitted to what he did... so for him to try to fight anything it's just kind of a lost cause at this point," she says.
Zimmerman tried to appeal his case by himself and lost. He will not be able to walk at graduation. He and the other students were suspended for the rest of the semester. They have been doing class work at an alternative school.
The teens must each pay $720 in fees and at least $300 in restitution -- more if all 24 don't pay their share of the $7,500 in cleanup costs.