School district could do better

A couple of weeks ago as I was getting ready for work, my son told me he didn't think he should go to school that day. He said that someone left a note at St. Charles North High School saying there would be a shooting.

He said he received a number of text messages and calls on his cell phone from friends who were worried and not going to school. He started text messaging his other friends to pass on the information (a communication network that proved to be vastly superior to anything used by the school administration).

As my pulse rate quickened, I dialed 911 and informed the operator about the situation.

She said she was not aware of this threat, and put me on hold for a few seconds. When she returned to the phone, she told me that I would be transferred to the St. Charles police.

I spoke with a police officer and he said that they were aware of the letter and police were at the school. He gave me another number to call, and I ended up speaking to a staff member of the police commander. She told me that they were aware of the letter, but the police did not think it was credible.

However, she said it was certainly my decision on whether to send my son to school under these circumstances. This was an easy decision considering the consequences if this threat really was credible.

As my pulse rate began to subside, I continued my morning routine which includes reading this newspaper while having breakfast. I noticed an article saying that the D-303 superintendent thought that the issue of school security should be revisited and it referenced a note found in St. Charles North High School. The article said the contents of the note could not be released because "it was under investigation." However, it hinted that the note "could be considered threatening."

I wondered, when is a school shooting considered non-threatening? The article also mentioned the police and administration did not consider the note credible because it was "written in pencil and found in a restroom." Arguably, if the note were written in pen and found elsewhere, it would be credible.

Later that morning (at least 4 hours after my son began receiving text messages from his friends about the threat), we received a recorded phone call from the administration of St. Charles North High school. The message said they had found the note the previous afternoon and planned to send out a message to all parents informing of the situation that day. However, this message was never sent. They were sorry.

However, they wanted to assure the parents that this administration would never jeopardize the safety of their students. I wondered why didn't anyone from the administration check to see if this message was actually sent and received by parents.

In this age of Columbine and Virginia Tech, it is inexcusable that a school administration would handle the communication of a potential threatening situation so poorly. Poor decision making and late communications at Virginia Tech unnecessarily increased the number of victims of this tragedy. I am sending a copy of this letter to the D-303 school board in hopes that they will seriously deal with the issue of school security.

I also believe the Daily Herald should use some of its reporting acumen to heighten attention on this subject. Although some readers may be fascinated that Campton Township has decided against bug spraying, I'm sure more readers would be interested to know what is being done to improve safety in our schools.

Ed Boltz

St. Charles