Hillsboro superintendent updates board, parents on reported social media threats

With a crowd of concerned parents and students among those in attendance at the Monday, Sept. 16 Hillsboro City Schools board meeting, district superintendent Tim Davis addressed an alleged social media threat — as well as rumors and backlash also posted on social media — in his report.

According to Davis, there were actually two separate alleged threats investigated by the district and law enforcement since Friday. The district posted the following statement Monday morning:

“Hillsboro City Schools is aware of social media posts that are circulating and have passed that information to the Hillsboro Police Department. All efforts are being made to ensure safety and we will be operating on a regular school schedule today at Hillsboro City Schools.”

A one-call was also made by the district Monday morning.

Davis said the district chose to put that out on social media because one of the rumors was that the district was unaware of the reported threat(s).

“We were getting reports that we didn't know about it,” Davis said. “That's why the one-call went out, just to reference to everybody that yes, we were aware of that, and through the police department and our administration, that was why we made the decision to go on a normal schedule.”

According to Davis, the first report was made Friday, after “some students reported to administration that there was a possibility of a video going around with the possibility of a gun” based on discussions overheard at a school event. The Hillsboro Police Department was notified and investigated the report, Davis said.

“There was no evidence that there was a Hillsboro City Schools student that did the video, or that they referenced Hillsboro City Schools in any way,” Davis said.

The post that sparked the investigation Monday was made on a separate social media app “late last night, early this morning,” and was also investigated by police. That post also allegedly involved a threat of “bringing a gun to school” and was sent to freshmen, Davis said.

“The Hillsboro Police Department were on site today as a precaution,” Davis said.

Prior to Davis’ report, one of the parents in attendance addressed the school board. Several of them also spoke to Davis and/or board members after the meeting.

The school district’s Facebook post has numerous shares and comments, primarily negative, regarding the lack of information shared by the district.

The parent who addressed the district Monday night echoed some of those concerns, speaking about the difficulty in determining whether it was safe for his kids to go to school when “our notification was lacking in even the most remote detail of what the situation was and how the school was responding to that.

“We had no information to give our children,” he said. “We had nothing to base any type of opinion on other than what we found on Facebook. I understand that Facebook and social media posts are extremely inaccurate. They vary widely in opinions about situations, but it seems to be a theme that at some point a threat is made, administration handles it, but it isn’t handled in a way that I feel is appropriate.”

The parent questioned how “extensive” the district’s investigations were and whether these and other threats have been legitimate.

“We have nothing other than a blanket one-call saying that the school board or the school system is aware of a threat and that school is continuing as scheduled,” he said. “That gives us nothing. That gives us nowhere to stand with our kids. We have to ensure as parents that our students are safe, they feel confident in going to school and returning to home that same day. But we have no argument. We have no ‘this is what the school is doing, this is the next step that's going to be taken, this is the response that is taking place currently to ensure your safety.’”

The parent added that the school system should not only be sharing information with the parents, but also the students, to ease concerns regarding school security.

“Our students have no confidence in their security,” he said. “I can't, as a father, look at my children and say ‘they're doing everything they can. This is what they're doing.’ I can tell them you’re doing everything you can, but I have no answers to any of their questions because I don't have information from the school system. We need transparency.”

The parent argued that families “need some type of information from every single threat,” not “identifying information,” but at least a breakdown of how the district is responding and their “next step to alleviate these problems.

“Please understand where the parents are coming from,” he told the board. “Not all of us are angry. Some of us are angry. I'm not angry. I understand that you are not in control of every single body in every single classroom, 100 percent of the day. But we need that transparency so that I can confidently tell my children these are the plans they have in place. We do not have that information now.

“Facebook is where I found out about the situation, and Facebook is where it was posted that the school was doing something about it. That, to me, is is a little unnerving. We need a phone call system. We have that in place. We need an email system.

“I also need the right to look at my daughter and say, ‘No, you don't have to go to school today,’” the parent continued. “‘Somebody made a threat. You're staying with me,’ because I'm the only person in this building that can guarantee her safety. I'm not asking you to guarantee it, because I know that's nearly impossible, but I can, and I need to be backed up by the school system to be able to do that.”

The board policy is to issue a written response to public participants, but Davis and several school board members also spoke to the parent in their respective reports Monday.

Davis addressed the parent’s concerns regarding safety.

“I've got four children in the district, three that go to that building,” Davis said. “My wife teaches here. Family, friends and my kids went to school today. I wouldn't put your child's safety in jeopardy more than I would put mine.

“For those decisions that people think that we don't put our children first, you know, that's up to you to decide. With the information that we were given, the investigation that we had with the police that were there, and the things that went on over the weekend with multiple police officers investigating that, you know, that's why we went on a regular schedule. Like I said, my kids were there, my wife was there, and I would not put them in jeopardy, and I wouldn't put your kids in jeopardy, either.”

Board member Jerry Walker said the gentleman “presented a wonderful parental sensitivity” in his comments.

“I think it's safe to say that you love your children, you want to protect them, and I think that that feeling was mirrored by Tim,” Walker said. “That's something that we all take seriously, and we would never put a child at risk, never. Communication can always be improved. Obviously, transparency can always be improved.

“I am pleased that parents such as yourself would come forward and speak to us. We value that.”

Board member Tom Milbery agreed, saying, “Well said.”

Board president Bill Myers thanked the parent as well as all of the other families in attendance.

“There was so much misinformation going on today,” Myers said. “All my children have gone through school there, and I, too, have a wife that teaches in our schools. As Mr. Davis said, many of us have relatives, friends, family, you know, we’re one big community here. The way things were handled today, I thought, were good.

“Tim and I were in contact back and forth, just making sure and covering bases and trying to do things. I, like a lot of people, thumbing through Facebook all day, it was borderline inducing panic for our families, and that was tough to deal with. Just so you know, our security in our schools for our students is our top priority and always has been. We want to make the best educational place that they can be, the safest place they can be, and know that they walk into those schools every day with people who love them, and so that's what we're here for.”

Davis also referenced the social media posts and cautioned of the dangers of the “chain reaction” of sharing and reposting unverified information.

“I know that it's a scary situation,” Davis said. “Things on social media are very scary. The things that we can learn from this is that when we post things or repost things, we need to make sure we know where it's coming from or who's posting it. It’s no different than the situation that we were dealing with Friday night.

“Someone overheard someone else saying this. ‘Well, who was it?’ ‘We don't know.’ ‘Well, there was this person. They were sitting next to them,’ and then that chain reaction going down, involving things that are going on.

“We do take every threat, everything that is said, very serious,” Davis continued. “We are still getting information concerning the whole event that's been going on all day.”

Check back to highlandcountypress.com for more from Monday’s meeting.

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