Four Phillipsburg High School students could face charges in juvenile court over the graffiti at Easton Area High School
Four Phillipsburg High School girls allegedly spray-painted graffiti messages behind Easton Area High School in anticipation of this week's football rivalry game.
The girls also smeared paint on the engraved alma mater in the front of the school, according to John Remaley, the Easton Area School District Director of Safe Schools.
They blasted the alma mater with sprayable string, left tinsel and toilet paper in the bushes in front of the school and scribbled messages in chalk on the sidewalk, he said.
Palmer Township police officers spotted a car loaded with the girls as it was leaving the school around 1 a.m. Monday, Nov. 21, Remaley said.
"They did a nice job of being alert," Remaley said.
Remaley said the girls admitted the vandalism was planned in advance. They said other groups were supposed to join in but they declined to name those participants. Remaley said authorities are checking surveillance video from that night to see whether other groups were involved.
The level of criminal sanctions the girls face depends on the cost to clean up the mess. School district workers had the alma mater cleaned up by 11 a.m. Monday but had yet to start on the spray paint. The girls could face summary citations in district court or could be charged in juvenile court, Remaley said.
Easton Area High School Principal Kyle Geiger said the sprayable string, toilet paper and chalk writing are easier to justify than the smeared and sprayed paint, which are much harder to clean up.
Geiger said Phillipsburg High School Principal Janice Trent apologized to him early Monday, even before he was aware of the spray paint.
Easton-P'burg powder puff: Meet the Red Rovers
He urged Red Rover students not to retaliate against their New Jersey rivals.
"Although this is a rivalry-filled week, we need to treat it with the mutual respect that it deserves," he said.
This Thursday will be the 110th meeting of Easton Area and Phillipsburg high schools on the football gridiron. The much-anticipated matchup on Thanksgiving is preceded by a parade and bonfire at Easton Area High School.
This isn't the first time students have vandalized the rival school.
In 2006, a statue of Easton's Red Rover bulldog mascot was stolen from the front of the school. A group of teenagers calling themselves "'Liners Empire" claimed responsibility for the dog-napping.
The statue and its pedestal were spray painted garnet, one of Phillipsburg's school colors, in 2010 and 2011. Students swiped the statue again in 2012. The statue now resides inside Easton Area High School.
A dead cat found at Phillipsburg High School in 2012 is believed to be linked to the rivalry. Suzy Stateliner, the Phillipsburg mascot, is a cat.
Signs at Easton Area High School were spray painted in 2011.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.