Resident warns board a recent ‘senior prank’ left teacher hospitalized, raises safety concerns

During the public-comment portion of the Penn-Trafford School District board meeting, resident Dan Saraki described events he said took place on senior prank day in May, including a teacher being hospitalized after exposure to latex and other unsafe activities on school property.

“This alleged prank could have killed someone,” Dan Saraki said, describing students’ actions that he said included filling an entryway with latex balloons, overturning desks and staging unsafe items on school grounds. Saraki said a teacher who opened a door inhaled dust from the balloons and experienced a severe reaction; he said an EpiPen was administered and emergency medical services arrived.

Saraki also raised concerns about property damage and risks to maintenance staff who had to remove streamers and overturned furniture before the school day. He told the board administration members were visible in social-media video of students preparing the prank, which he said suggested how students gained access to the building before school started. Saraki said he had not yet presented the concerns to the principal and was using the public forum to bring them to the board’s attention.

Board members thanked Saraki for bringing the concerns to the meeting. The transcript shows no formal board directive or motion tied to the public comment during the session; the item was recorded under public comment with reference to district policy on comments.

The board’s agenda moved on to old business and the budget without recorded action on Saraki’s remarks; the superintendent and administrators discussed safety and staffing issues later in the meeting while debating the budget, but no board vote or specific follow-up task tied explicitly to the prank description was recorded in the minutes provided at the meeting.