Butler County school orders all student bags searched before classes

Madison Schools officials ordered student backpacks and bags searched Friday morning prior to allowing them to enter the Butler County school district’s building on the combined K-12 campus, said district officials, who cited a threat.(File Photo/Journal-News)

Madison Schools officials ordered student backpacks and bags searched Friday morning prior to allowing them to enter the Butler County school district’s building on the combined K-12 campus, said district officials, who cited a threat.(File Photo/Journal-News)

One of Butler County’s most actively secured school districts this morning required students to wait in lines before entering its schools to have school backpacks and other bags searched.

Officials at Madison Schools, which is the only district in the county to have trained, armed school staffers on its K-12 campus, released a social media statement after the searches, saying the rare measure was done due to a “non-specific threat” tip.

According to the statement: “Thank you to our students and parents who waited in line this morning while we checked all bags. We were contacted about a non-specific threat without names or details, and we were just being extra careful to search all bags!”

“We are the safest drug free school around!!! Nothing was found and all students are safe!!!,” said district officials.

Butler County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kim Peters said last night a student told parents he heard a student was going to bring a gun to school today. Officials were notified and plans were made to search backpacks as a precaution.

Portable metal detectors were used to search the students, and a couple of deputies were on hand to search backpacks, Peters said.

“Nothing was found. It was unsubstantiated,” she said.

Madison Schools Superintendent Lisa Tuttle-Huff declined to comment further.

In 2016, Madison Schools drew national attention when a student brought a handgun to school and wounded three classmates.

Since then, Madison school officials have embarked on the most aggressive program among all southwest Ohio schools in creating a program where some teachers and other staffers who volunteer for training and are allowed to have access to a firearm while school is in session.

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