Edgewood Superintendent Russ Fussnecker said such threats are an unfortunate reality of modern school life but concedes nothing to anyone who may be trying to disrupt a school day.
Last month was particularly bad for this school year as threats of violence against schools shut down buildings — or caused temporary lockdowns — in both Edgewood and New Miami Schools.
Most school threats are false and amplified by social media but they are all investigated with the close cooperation of local or county law enforcement, Fussnecker said.
“We have informed our families that we take these types of threats seriously and we work with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department and Trenton Police Department to determine the seriousness and the source of the threat,” he said.
“Fortunately, our recent school threats have turned out not to be credible,” said Fussnecker, who is the most veteran Butler County school superintendent.
“That being said, it does not mean that it goes without repercussions to the person who made the threat. It also does not imply that there were no negative effects at school.”
“Where we are very fortunate that there was not a situation of physical violence and all students and staff remained safe, it has disrupted the educational process for our students and created heightened anxiety for some students and staff,” he said.
While students’ adeptness at social media can accelerate the spread of a threat, internet savvy students can also alert others to threats made online.
“Some of the most recent threats have dealt with photos that were taken from other websites or stock photos that were photoshopped to mention our schools or district. These have then been posted on students’ storylines or shared through social media.”
“We have reached out to our families to reinforce that if students see these types of posts they should report them to their parents or guardians and/or their school principals. We have also asked families to monitor their child’s social media accounts and make sure their child understands the serious nature of these types of actions,” he said.
As to why a tiny minority of students — or others — would risk legal prosecution, punishment to threaten a school remains a mystery to the former Edgewood High School principal and earlier in his career a classroom teacher.
“No one truly understands what causes students to take such actions but it is disappointing that those decisions have been made at all.”
About the Author
