MASON CITY, Iowa – Two Iowa middle schoolers face felony charges after they allegedly pealed bark from a tree on school property.

Parker Niles (L)    Devon Barkema (R)

Parent Naomi Wells told the Globe Gazette she’s concerned her 13-year-old son Parker Niles will now have a criminal record because of an innocent mistake. She’s attempted to discuss the ordeal with Mason City Community Schools officials, but has been largely ignored.

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“I guess as a parent, I should be at fault for not teaching him that pulling bark off a tree will kill it,” Niles said. “I made sure to cover sex, drugs, drinking, responsibility, honesty and God, but trees, that one slipped my mind.”

Niles and his step brother Devon Barkema, 14, were charged with a Class D felony this summer after a resident near Roosevelt Elementary called police when they allegedly witnessed the boys peeling bark off a tree at the school Aug. 5, according to the news site.

Several other kids also helped to strip about four or five feet of bark around the circumference of the tree – and also carved in their initials – but Niles and Barkema are the only two facing criminal charges.

Mason City Police based the felony second-degree criminal mischief charges on a cost estimate provided by Cutting Edge Tree Services to replace the tree, which came in at $1,166. Wells did her own research and found that Blanchard Tree Services could replace it for about $475, which is below the threshold to trigger felony charges, the Gazette reports.

“My heart is breaking for my son,” Wells said. “I don’t believe it had to go to this extreme.”

The mother said she left several messages with school officials to discuss the issue, but received no response.

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“Wells thinks the district could have handled the situation better, like discussing payment for the tree and completing community service instead of felony charges,” according to the Gazette.

“There’s nothing worse than seeing my 13-year-old son turn right, left and front as his mug shot is taken,” she said.

Wells told the news site her son has received mostly positive feedback from her son’s teachers, who have praised Niles for his work ethic and leadership. Her son is active in sports and is rarely in trouble, she said.

“I’m willing to work with the school,” she told the Gazette. “It’s just really frustrating when you’re trying to help your kid out but you can’t fight the battle because no one is willing to listen or give you a chance.”

Niles hasn’t been punished by school officials, but Barkema received notice from the district that he’s suspended from extracurricular activities for a month.

It seems clear Mason City Police did very little to investigate the incident and zeroed in on two of several tree-peeling culprits. With initials carved into the tree, it shouldn’t be too awful difficult to determine the others involved.

Law enforcement’s rush to file felony charges with only one estimate also illustrates that local police aren’t too interested in the best resolution for the students involved. They seem to have given little thought to how a felony conviction might impact their future.

School officials can grow a new tree, but felony charges will follow these students for life, if they’re convicted.