Radio station's April Fool's joke backfires

You will have to pay a fee for your child to go to Clark County schools.

That's not true, but that was the message that thousands of radio listeners heard Wednesday morning. The idea was to trick parents and students as part of an April Fool's prank. But News 3's Katherine Whaley explains why school district administrators say this joke has some very serious consequences.

From the radio waves to the telephone lines, an April Fool's Day prank played by DJs Krazy Kat and J-Noise of Hot 97.5 FM didn't get many laughs over at the Clark County School District.

"Literally, our phones were ringing one after another."

The radio station broadcast that all students in Clark County would have to start paying $100 per month in tuition. That's not happening, and school district officials are not happy.

"For April Fool's...to really joke about somebody's livelihood - both from the school employee's standpoint as well as the parents - and their concern of what they'll be paying for their student, that's a little more serious," says a CCSD official.

The radio station received dozens of calls Wednesday morning, mostly from angry parents. The DJs had agreed to an on-camera interview with News 3, but station managers stepped in and said the joke had gone on long enough; Hot 97.5 refused to comment.

Listeners like Quintanette Johnson didn't take the joke seriously, but didn't find it funny either.

"The radio is full of BS, personally. Times are hard right now, so why would we have to pay for our kids to go to school?"

And now, the prank could come with a penalty: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is investigating the incident. In the meantime, the joke has backfired, with listeners still lighting up the phone lines looking for answers.

"I thought, ‘Oh my God. They're doing an April Fool's thing.' That's right, tell me about it," complains a radio listener. "All we need right now is more confusion."

The Clark County School District posted a message on its web site Wednesday morning to warn parents about the hoax.