Concerned Plains parents vent after alleged school threat

School officials in Plains are dealing with the fallout of an alleged threat that occurred there Friday morning.

According to Plains Superintendent Thom Chisholm, a student told a parent that another student was making threats of violence Friday, Nov. 15.

“We investigated the source of the report and the student that was supposed to have made the threat and we found no evidence to support the allegation,” Chisholm said.

Chisholm said the incident began when one student allegedly made claims of being violent.

“After determining the threat wasn’t valid, there wasn’t anything to report so we went ahead with our business,” Chisholm said.

Chisholm said he was busy answering people’s phone calls and answering their questions.

The school posted the following statement on its Facebook page:

“The Plains School Administration conducted an investigation of a recent alleged threat regarding the school on Friday morning. A determination of no imminent danger was found. Additional safeguards were enacted and the alleged concern is being monitored. The threat level did not warrant public notification.”

But at that point, the social media post did little to assure parents of children at the school.

Many replies to the school’s statement were of disappointment, anger and outrage that they weren’t notified sooner.

Some said they were going to keep their students home from school Monday, but Chisholm said the number of kids that didn’t attend were few, although he didn’t have specific figures as of 10:45 a.m. Monday.

“A few have stayed home, but some parents have since brought their kids to school after we spoke with them,” Chisholm said.

Many parents of students posted comments on the school’s Facebook page that a chain text or chain voice mail wasn’t sent and they should’ve been notified sooner.

One wrote that it was “really upsetting and concerning for me as a parent to receive information of such importance through Facebook...”