We are pleased to report Port Neches-Groves Principal Scott Ryan is taking Friday night’s flare incident seriously.

Shooting a flare or a firework blindly into a crowd is not just mean and dumb, but it is incredibly dangerous. First there is the matter of potentially hurting whomever the flare might land on and second there is a real potential for setting off a public panic. In the wake of numerous public mass shootings, one can imagine how nervous and tense some are in a crowd.

Finally, there is the matter of reputation. Both schools have traditions of excellence in sports, academics and civic responsibility. Only months ago, student groups from Port Neches-Groves High School were volunteering to help residents rebuild after the Tropical Storm Harvey flooding and months before that, their baseball team won a state championship.

While a single disciplinary issue will not erode the school’s hard-earned reputation, such reckless behavior does needlessly sully an otherwise spotless record.