In response to this fall’s outbreak of school threats, the Kentucky Center for School Safety will hold regional “Terroristic Threatening in the Schools” workshops. KCSS Executive Director Jon Akers said he polled superintendents by email to see if they would be interested in such training. “I had a flood of support on this thing: ‘Yes, yes, yes, we’ll send people.’” And, Akers, said, they wanted it as soon as possible.
Akers said the three-hour programs, conducted by a retired Kentucky State Police officer and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent, will focus on suggestions for determining what is a credible threat, response protocol and more.
Burgin Independent Superintendent Martha Collier (see main story) said someone from her district will attend one of the sessions, praising the KCSS for its help in her school’s experience. But she noted, in determining credible vs. noncredible threats, she would still err on the side of caution.
“The thoughts of human error come into that,” she said. “I think education and training are helpful, but it’s not 100 percent.”
“You have to sleep that evening with the decision you made,” said former Grant County Schools Superintendent and KCSS trainer Don Martin. “We have to have school eventually. At the same time, we have promoted an atmosphere of safety and security for all students. So it’s a very difficult line to walk.”
The KCSS training is slated for Dec. 4 in Elizabethtown; Dec. 9 in Prestonsburg; and Dec. 18 in Lexington. Another one is being planned for western Kentucky. For details, click
here.