This story, to put it lightly, is very upsetting… especially since it’s my kids school district. But it should upset everyone, especially those with school aged kids.
I posted about it in the old Midterms 3.0 thread about a week after it went down …
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11389193/Oprah-Winfrey-turns-Dr-Oz-endorses-Democrat-John-Fetterman.html
www.canesinsight.com
Now there is this article…
ITHACA, N.Y.—School safety is a constant concern for parents, kids, teachers and school leaders, with an awareness that has been reinforced over and over again that a slow or lackluster […]
ithacavoice.com
Highlights from the article…
Though police reports show the school district was notified of the incident by both the bus driver and the bus aide right after it happened, law enforcement wasn’t told until Saturday evening, about 24 hours afterwards. Still, that report wasn’t made by the school district, but instead by a parent of one of the kids who was on the school bus, who heard about it from their child.
We received our first notification of this incident on [Oct. 29] at 4:31 PM from the parent of a student who was victimized by this. If not for this report, we probably never would have heard about it. Shortly thereafter, the responding deputy attempted to contact Luvelle Brown, left a voicemail message, and did not hear back.”
Aherne emphasized the precariousness of not responding to threats immediately and potentially ignoring indicators, citing mass shooting incidents in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas from earlier this year. It’s fortunate that this particular threat didn’t result in any further incidents, Aherne said, but the district’s response or lack thereof clearly struck a disturbing chord with her. As part of the extreme risk protection order proceedings that are accompanying the criminal case, Aherne called for Van Houten to send subpoenas to compel Brown to appear in court. She said if Brown declined to do so she would hold them in contempt.
“When a threat of gun violence is made in a school setting, there is no excuse for the school district not to immediately alert law enforcement,” Van Houten said in a statement to The Ithaca Voice. “School officials should not be the ones who determine whether a threat is credible. This should be basic protocol for school districts. My position is that we all need to use common sense and work together to ensure that our children are safe and to minimize the risk that a catastrophic event happens in our school systems.”