Board praises reaction to bogus email threat

Members of the USD 234 Board of Education and school district administration voiced their feelings Monday night on a potentially dangerous situation the district encountered Jan. 5.

On their first day back from the holiday break Jan. 5, Fort Scott High School staff received a threatening e-mail message which Fort Scott Police Chief Travis Shelton said "was conveyed to cause alarm to personnel and students" in the district. Details of the e-mail, which was received at the school district before 9 a.m. Jan. 5, were not released.

On Jan. 6, following a collaborative investigation between the FSPD, school administration and the FBI, the FSPD arrested a juvenile in connection with that e-mail. The 16-year-old Bourbon County male was arrested at the FSPD on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated criminal threat.

After the e-mail was reported to law enforcement authorities, the school building was searched and a decision was made to release students in all district schools early as a precautionary measure. Shelton said nothing was found during a search of the high school premises.

Members of the school board, administration and other school personnel gave their opinions on how they felt the matter was handled by law enforcement and school officials. Discussion on the topic was spread throughout Monday's board meeting.

USD 234 Superintendent Bob Beckham thanked his staff, which he said did an "amazing" job handling the situation and working in cooperation with the police department.

"It was a good drill; we learned a lot," he said.

Board vice-president Gary Billionis said he was at the board office during the incident and remained there until he knew everything and everyone was safe.

"On Monday, from this office, everything was orchestrated," he said. "The schools were on top of things in working with the police. With all the preparations, you don't know how good they'll work until they work."

Billionis said Beckham did his job that day and likened the superintendent to a "conductor of an orchestra."

"Everything went smooth," Billionis said.

Board member Jamie Armstrong said Jan. 5 was a "very scary moment" but she was pleasantly surprised to see the calmness among staff and students when she picked her child up from school.

"I expected pandemonium and it was calm among the teachers and staff, who just nailed it," she said.

Board member Janet Braun said she received an e-mail about the threat and drove by the schools to see what she could observe.

"It was very calm with the buses and the parents," she said.

Board member Justin Meeks said he was "glad everyone's safe."

Board president Jordan Witt said "Monday was a scary time" and he, too, appreciated how everyone worked together with staff and student safety as a priority.

"I appreciate the thought process. The coordination was there," he said. "They were working with one cause in mind and that was to keep students safe."

Brenda Hill, representative of the Fort Scott Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) chapter, said she appreciated Beckham meeting with her on the first day students headed back to school.

"I appreciate the way it was handled very professionally," she said.

Shelton had said police planned to pursue a criminal investigation into the threat, which they learned was similar to a hoax e-mail that had circulated in another state.

School officials fielded several phone calls from concerned parents the day of the incident. Police communicated the concern with personnel at the other public schools and also private schools in the area.

Shelton said other details are not being released because the case is still under investigation and additional arrests and charges could be made. He said final decisions on charges against the accused will be determined by the county attorney's office. At this time, it is also unclear what penalties the accused might face, he said.

Beckham has said the district has a zero-tolerance policy for such threats and while the exact punishment for the FSHS student was not clear, it would be "the maximum discipline that our policy would allow."

Other business

* The board also approved the consent agenda, which included the $1.2 million December payroll, district financial report and district gifts and donations.

* The board approved the recommendation of a steering committee to move forward with Nabholz Construction Services of Olathe, a commercial construction contractor, as the construction manager at-risk for proposed projects in the $40.8 million school bond issue voters approved in November.

See Wednesday's Tribune for a complete report of the discussion regarding the contractor.