School security is a top-of-mind issue across America, and rightfully so with shootings and other incidents or threats of violence.
However, we saw at least one local student follow what police everywhere have been urging: “If you see something, say something.”
A Columbus student reported a threat made by a 16-year-old male Columbus North student in a social-media post that was sent to several classmates the night before the first day of school. The social media threat included a photo of what appeared to a be a weapon — later determined to be a pellet gun.
The school district did not notify North parents about the issue because Columbus police determined it was not a credible threat. But, it was serious enough that police took the youth to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center, and the school district suspended him pending a recommendation for expulsion.
The boy said it was a joke. But the resulting actions paint it as anything but that.
Because of privacy laws, school officials find themselves in a difficult situation when it comes to commenting about the behavior of any one student, even without identifying that person by name. But mentioning the incident at a school board meeting just days later during a discussion on school safety could have hammered home the seriousness of such actions in face-to-face discussions with parents.
School shootings and other threats have forever changed the way schools operate — in Bartholomew County and across America, and understandably so.
