Parents, students criticize district response to threat
More than 200 residents blast officials for handling of school threat
Faced with continuing rumors about threats at Boyertown Area High School, the administration called a town hall meeting Thursday, May 31, which, despite only three-hours notice, attracted hundreds of worried parents and students.
Assistant Superintendent Marybeth Torchia made what school board President Donna Usavage called “the command decision” to call the meeting largely “to make sure everyone has the same information” and in an attempt the stem the rumor mill rampaging on social media, texts and phone calls.
And she took her lumps, with parent after parent telling her that the district’s response to a recent threat had been inadequate, particularly in the communication department.
It began before the Memorial Day weekend on Thursday, May 24, when a student was overheard by several others to have made a threat against ninth-grade students, calling them “snitches.”
High School Principal Brett Cooper said in the information that his team received, no specific threat was issued, and there was no mention of a gun or shooting. They deemed it to be not a viable threat after interviewing the student involved.
“At no point did anyone provide information to the admin-
“If there would have been a threat made that involved a gun, that information would have gone out that day.”
—Marybeth Torcia, assistant superintendent of Boyertown Schools
istration that anyone was going to shoot the entire class,” Torchia said. “What we knew was student said there were snitches and he would take care of them.”
However, over the weekend, rumors of an attack spread, students expressed fear about returning to school on Tuesday and parents began comparing notes.
“We were caught offguard by information that was going around on social media,” said Torchia. “If there would have been a threat made that involved a gun, that information would have gone out that day.”
By Monday, it had become obvious to the administration that some kind of communication was necessary, but the vaguely worded, non-specific email did little to allay fears and only allowed room for more speculation, parents said last night.
Subsequent rumors about the student’s girlfriend opening up a door at the high school to let him in for a June 1 ninth grade assembly finally triggered Torchia to hold the meeting in an attempt to put the matter to a rest — a delay she said, in hindsight, was a mistake.
Junior Lindsey Scott said students were not given enough information, adding that “it feels like its only because of the rumors that we’re having this meeting.”
She said the two students involved have not been expelled, but, in a statement posted on the district website Friday, added, “the student in question — who we will not name — along with one other Boyertown Area School District student, have voluntarily agreed not to return to school for the remainder of the school year.”
The statement added, “we continue, however, to interact with them and with their families with the assistance of a counseling professional. They pose no threat based on the assessment of investigators. And their privacy should be respected.”
What the administration needs to do now, many of the parents said, is earn the community’s respect.
“I’m not saying this to be mean, but these people don’t trust you,” said parent Jon Emeigh.
“This isn’t the first time Boyertown has held back information,” said another speaker.
Torchia confessed, repeatedly, that the administration had made mistakes and was learning from the meeting what parents, students and staff need in terms of information.
There was no shortage of suggestions.
Donald Fry said the school should have armed guards, dismissing concerns about cost by adding, to applause, “come one, the price of a bullet is 26 cents, and how to you compare that to the price of a life?”
But parent Stephanie Dietrich and Emeigh warned about overreacting.
Noting that she has a “law enforcement background” and has interviewed shooters, Dietrich said metal detectors and an enhanced police presence will not stop a determined shooter.
“If they are bound and determined to kill you, they don’t care if the whole SWAT team is in front of them,” she said. “Nowhere, at any time, are we 100 percent safe.”
Emeigh said while he favors armed guards “I don’t favor turning the school into a fortress.” He said it may make students feel safe at first, but that studies have show it ultimately increases their stress level and is detrimental to education.”
But parent Joe Fava said he had been able to enter the ninth grade section of the school that night without having to identify himself and without being challenged at any point.
“You have a problem,” he said, calling for an expert to help make the district’s new security plan. “I trust you to educate my kids, not to secure them.
But Torchia said the district had engaged an expert, a former employee of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who had helped craft the plan which, she said, will be put into place in three phases.
She said on Tuesday the school board approved spending more than $300,000 on the plan, which includes “physical plant upgrades” like cameras and other items she did not think it prudent to detail.
Torcia also said the doors at the high school will be fitted with alarms, to prevent students opening them at inappropriate times to let people into the building.
There will also be education for students and staff about a new reporting matrix, and better education, she said.
Scott also pointed out that many students do not know where to go in the school or in the community for mental health services, adding that guidance counselors seem only interested in students’ college plans and not their emotional problems.
“I’m not saying this to be mean, but these people don’t trust you.”
—Jon Emeigh, Boyertown parent