NEW ALBANY – After two social media threats were made to local schools in as many school days, the way in which districts alert parents are under scrutiny.
On Friday, a former New Albany High School student made a post on Snapchat, showing the exterior of the high school with the text "I'm gettin more than 17 ppl lmao.” New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey said the threat was never believed to be credible, but there was heightened police presence and the student was later arrested. The "17" referenced the number of people slain in a Florida high school shooting just days before.
Then on Sunday, another student allegedly posted a threat toward students in both Greater Clark County and New Albany-Floyd County schools. Both students will face juvenile charges, Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson told media at a news conference Monday.
Parents and guardians with students in Greater Clark were alerted at 10:30 p.m. Sunday that a threat was made and police were investigating, district Superintendent Andrew Melin told the News and Tribune. Melin said he was first made aware of the threat around 8:30 p.m. and he waited 2 hours to alert parents because he was "hoping the individual would be apprehended and [he] would be authorized to share that fact with parents."
"I waited as long as I could, hoping I could shared something more conclusive," he said. At 10:30, he opted to send an e-mail and phone alert to parents and the next day, 2,100 students of the more than 10,000 in the district stayed home.
Melin said he knows 10:30 is probably late for some parents, but the messaging system is a powerful tool, and he'd "rather over-communicate to people and have them upset that we are over-communicating rather than not communicate enough."
In neighboring Floyd County, some parents say the manner in which they were notified of the school threats left a lot to be desired.
Parents were notified of the first threat via phone call on Friday afternoon, NA-FC Superintendent Brad Snyder said. They were advised of the latest threat early Monday morning, also via phone call, he said, after the suspect was arrested.
There is no specific protocol in place, Snyder said, but rather each situation is handled on a case-by-case basis. “When it happens, we have to react appropriately and that's the question. We want to be appropriate. We don't want to be alarmists, nor do we want to be too passive. We want to be just right.”
Parent Malinda Graves says they got it wrong. “The school district didn't leave a voicemail on our phone [on Friday] until somewhere around 45 minutes after I had already picked my son up. The parents wouldn't have even known [there was a threat] if it were not for the students texting information. That's unacceptable. As a parent I trust the district with his safety,” Graves said in a Facebook message.
Kimberly Higdon's son attends New Albany High School. She says when she learns of a potential threat from her child before hearing from the district, it's a problem. “How are we supposed to parent our kids if we don't know about the things they are telling us?” she asked.
Snyder says when a threat is made, the officials are “engaged in working the threat and making sure we have a safe place … calling in officers, having doors manned, assessing if it's credible or not credible. All of that goes into the timing. It's the students first, that's what we have to focus on because they are in our care.”
Though parents were alerted by phone that the suspect who allegedly made the threat Sunday was in custody, 20 percent of students were absent from school on Monday across the NA-FC district.
Higdon sent her son because she says “you can't live in fear,” but she also doesn't know if she's being honest when she tells him it's a safe place to be.
“He's not going to feel safe in there if I can't assure him his school is safe. [Officials in Parkland], Florida thought they did everything right, too. I think there needs to be serious discussion on how to improve communication and can somebody go in and start shooting up the place. Are they truly safe? I think every parent who has a kid would like to know the answer,” she said.
“No parent wants their kid to live that way,” she said. “To be genuinely scared, to the point he messaged his sisters and said 'In case I don't come home, I love you.' I feel at a loss as a parent. It's heartbreaking to know my kid is sitting at school scared.”
School facilities director Bill Wiseheart said each time any major tragedy such as the Florida school shooting happens, lessons can be learned. “We look at the event, get the facts of the event and look at what has occurred and see how we can improve ourselves,” he said.
Snyder said the same in terms of communication, noting that changes will be made. “What those changes are, I don't know. We will continue to debrief and check with best practices around the nation. We continually need to learn. These events appear to be the new world order and we need to get better with [handling] them,” he said.