Response to potential school threat in Solon Springs raises parent concerns

Feb. 15—SOLON SPRINGS — Emotions ran high during a special School Board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

The topic of the meeting, which was held following parent-teacher conferences, was the district's handling of a potential student threat that was reported Monday, Feb. 5. Some parents and teachers said they didn't receive information about the threat until two days later. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office was alerted the day after the initial threat was reported.

Concerns about communication, timeliness and consistency were lofted by community members.

"The protocol we had for the situation last week was lacking. Quite honestly, after reviewing it, there's no discussion in there about contacting families and that's a critical piece here," Solon Springs Superintendent Pete Hopke said in a phone interview Wednesday, Feb. 14.

The meeting was held to clarify the situation, understand what didn't go smoothly and lay out a plan as the district moves forward.

"We're doing everything possible to ensure the safety of students and staff and involving outside agencies to help make sure that we are as safe as possible," Hopke said.

A student reported a potential school threat to Principal Holly Jones and Dean of Students Dale Rajala Feb. 5. They investigated the situation and determined it was a misunderstanding.

"A student was talking with another student about getting together for paintball games and the statement heard was taken out of context," Jones told the crowd at Tuesday's meeting. "Through our investigation, we determined that there was no threat to the school."

When additional threatening comments were reported Tuesday, the educators investigated the situation with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

"Deputies responded to the Solon school recently at the request of school administration, regarding a conversation that a student overheard. It was quickly determined that no criminal activity had taken place, and no threat was made at all. Unfortunately, local social media turned rumors into falsehoods which grew as it spread," said Douglas County Sheriff Matt Izzard.

Inaccurate information about the incident continued to swirl in the community, Jones said, and the decision was made to inform families of the situation and reassure them everyone was safe.

The first message was sent through the Skyward system, but did not reach all the parents. A second message was sent through the Skyalert, which the district uses to announce weather closings.

Renewing the list of contact emails and phone numbers every year to make sure they're accurate is something that the district plans to do. Parents can also help by checking to make sure their contact information at the school is current. Jones mentioned that they plan to test their alert systems to ensure they are reaching parents.

Hopke told the crowd Tuesday that the district is committed to establishing timely and transparent communication with staff and families, as well as a set of consistent response procedures, including putting the school in a hold and pulling the student from class and debriefing staff, the public and students of the situation promptly.

When a similar event took place at Superior High SchoolFeb. 5, Principal Aaron Fezzey sent a letter to parents the same day. Based on protocols that had been developed following a

spring 2023 incident at the high school

, the district went into an administrative hold after receiving a Speak Up, Speak Out report about a potential weapon on campus. Law enforcement located the student and removed them from the classroom; no weapon was found.

One parent suggested hiring a Solon Springs constable who could cover the town, village and school.

Izzard said he has had conversations with leaders in both the Maple and Solon Springs school districts about the potential of a school resource officer in the future.

"The conversations about a school resource officer are in their infancy and it will take time, money, community support and more planning to make this come to fruition," he said.

Both districts have opened their doors to the sheriff's office, welcoming the tactical team and patrol deputies into every rural school for response training and safety planning.

"The safety of every school in Douglas County is of the utmost importance to the sheriff's office. We will continue to work in collaboration with all districts to ensure that each student is safe every day," Izzard said.

The Solon Springs School Board will hold its next regular board meeting Monday, Feb. 26. Board President Keith Nordskog said they will make sure the issue is on the agenda, which will allow board members to address questions people have. He encouraged families to send their questions in writing to a School Board member or an administrator so they can go over them and get answers for the community.

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