From the forever teenage vampires in “Twilight” to the reporter played by Drew Barrymore in “Never Been Kissed” to the “21 Jump Street” cops and Steve Buscemi’s meme-able private investigator from “30 Rock”, the adult-in-high-school trope is well-worn. It isn’t as common in real life.
However, one 22-year-old in Minnesota tried to pull off attending White Bear Lake Area High School in the Twin Cities area. According to KSTP, the individual used fake identification to enroll in the school and was in police custody as of Tuesday.
Minnesota law allows pupils who turn 21 after enrollment to continue attending free public school only under some stipulations. Documentation for proof of age that can be requested by Minnesota public schools includes: a passport, a hospital birth record or physician’s certificate, a baptismal or religious certificate, an adoption record, health records, immunization records, immigration records, previously verified school records, early childhood screening records, Minnesota Immunization Information Connection records, or an affidavit from a parent.
Citing a message sent to WBLAHS families by Principal Russell Reetz, the KSTP report said the school went by its usual enrollment process, “which is as rigorous as state law allows.” Then, it began investigating after receiving reports of a student beyond the legal age for high school enrolled in classes.
“The individual appears to have provided fraudulent documentation and a false identity to enroll,” Reetz said. He also said the individual has been banned from district property.
Alpha News identified the former student as a 22-year-old named Kelvin Luebke. A man by that name was arrested by the Plymouth Police Department on Sunday, according to records from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. Records indicated that he was released from custody in Hennepin County but that he was being held by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office as of Wednesday. Sources cited by Alpha News told the outlet that Leubke went by the name KJ at the school and that he was on the school’s football roster.
According to CBS News, there is a “palpable outrage and calls for accountability” in the local area in the wake of this news.
“I’m scared that they’re not keeping our kids safe,” said local parent April Jorgenson. “I don’t understand how this man got into my kid’s school.”
Micheala Ross, a parent quoted by KSTP, also voiced concerns.
“How can someone even forge all of this without the school knowing?” she said. “Where’s the trust? How are we supposed to trust and rely that you’re actually going to take care of our kids if something like this happened?”
Republican Minnesota State Rep. Elliot Engen has called for the school district’s superintendent, Wayne Kazmierczak, to step down.
“White Bear Lake students, teachers, and parents deserve better than Superintendent Kazmierczak,” he said in a Facebook post this week. “This can’t happen. It’s time for him to resign.”