Questions of school safety discussed at USD 489 Board Meeting

BY ALICIA FEYERHERM

Concerns about school safety were discussed during Monday’s USD 489 Board of Education meeting. 

Brandon Weigel addressed the board during public comment, saying a student at Roosevelt Elementary had made threats aimed at teachers and students and shown classmates explicit photos. 

When Weigel picked up his children, he was told the student was suspended for two days. Weigel’s wife emailed the school’s principal expressing concern about the incident and that there was no parental notification.

Weigel said they received a generic response saying there was “no immediate threat to students or staff”. A follow-up email received the same type of response. 

The next day Weigel, his wife, and mother-in-law set up a meeting with Superintendent Ron Wilson.

“The entire situation was discussed, but we were again told there was no credible threat,” Weigel said. 

During his meeting with Wilson, Weigel asked what constituted a credible threat and Wilson said a credible threat was when a student brings a weapon to school. 

“That is far too late to be considered a credible threat at that point,” Weigel said. 

Weigel said Wilson told them that between the officer and the school principal, it was determined the student would be safe to return to school after the two-day suspension and therefore notifying other parents was not necessary. 

Weigel was unsatisfied with Wilson’s responses. 

“Mr. Wilson’s demeanor and posture was not professional that day in our opinion,” Weigel said. 

“As concerned parents, we feel the superintendent wasn’t comforting or willing to help us.” 

Weigel said Wilson told him it was not his job to bring concerns about these policies to the board which is why Weigel decided to speak at the meeting. 

When looking into the policy, Weigel could not find policies addressing criminal threats. Weigel also wondered at what point a psychologist is involved in determining whether a child is safe to return to school. 

“I am a former police officer for the city of Hays and I can tell you we have received no training when it comes to psychology,” Weigel said. 

For that reason, Weigel said it should not be left up to the determination of a police officer and a school principal to evaluate a student. 

Weigel asked the board to look into policies addressing these issues and how parents are notified. 

“Whether it was determined to be credible or not, in this day and age, no threat like this should be taken lightly, and transparency needs to be one of the foremost thoughts of USD 489,” Weigel said. 

Deb Shinn added to Weigel’s points.

“The world is changing so much and we have to address those problems for all of our kids and it’s not just the fact of our children. We want the child involved to get the right help and the things he needs to turn things around,” Shinn said. 

The current policy for disruptive behavior at school or school activities was adopted in September 2013 with the most recent revision in 2015. The district’s Security and Safety policy was adopted in 2011 and revised in 2016. 

During the meeting, the board also: 

  • Recognized gifted education teacher Jerry Braun for being named one of seven Kansas Master Teachers
  • Reviewed the design of the renovated Roosevelt Elementary school
  • Assistant Superintendent Shanna Dinkel provided a “Teaching and Learning” update

The next board meeting will be on March 27.

Top
%d bloggers like this: