The Elmhurst youth who took part in the 2005 arson of a $1 million home and later a school bus was sentenced to probation until his 21st birthday.

DuPage County Juvenile Court Judge Patrick Leston also decided the boy, who is now 17, should take a fire safety education class and pay $10,000 in restitution, said Paul Darrah, spokesman for DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett.

If the boy commits any other crimes before his probation ends, he could receive a harsher sentence, Darrah said.

“He just needs to keep his nose clean,” said Darrah.

The York Community High School student was 15 when he and other members of York’s cross country team set fire to a box of construction materials, which ignited the home, authorities said.

The fire spread from the vacant house to two neighboring homes.

Neighbors safely escaped their homes, and no injuries were reported.

But the fire caused serious damage to the residences.

Justin Jones and Brian Marchese, who were 17 at the time, were sentenced last September to a year in DuPage County Jail.

The pair pleaded guilty July 6 to two counts of arson and agreed to each pay $100,000 in restitution. In addition, their names were put on the state’s Arson Registry and they will serve 36 months of probation, Darrah said.

A fourth York student, Daniel Kunesh, also was sentenced to jail time for his role in the bus fire.

DuPage Judge George Bakalis on Oct. 27 gave him 30 days in DuPage County Jail after Kunesh pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage to property, a Class 4 felony, Darrah said.

The students are responsible for the late July 2005 arson of a home under construction at 845 S. Poplar Ave. and a school bus at Sandburg Middle School.

When pleading guilty, Jones and Marchese said the crimes were part of a prank before the start of their season.

After the fires, the two were kicked off the team and expelled from school.