Cobleskill-Richmondville has a procedure in place to deal with social media threats and other improper behavior.
Superintendent Matt Sickles reviewed the issue at last week’s school board meeting, saying that C-R has had “a handful of these incidents.”
They started on the first day of school, when there was a bomb threat at the high school. C-R instituted a ‘shelter in place’ to keep the hallways clear so that police could scan the building.
There was no bomb; the student making the threat was identified and arrested.
More recently, a student at Radez School had a knife he shouldn’t have had. The incident was taken care of and parents of Radez students were notified.
C-R has had a few more incidents than it might usually have, he added.
“They intend to scare, or they’re a poor attempt at humor,” Mr. Sickles said.
The protocol in place determines the threat’s level of risk, and C-R officials take appropriate action.
“We all know the rumor mill will go crazy” when there’s an incident, Mr. Sickles said, so C-R wants to react as quickly as possible.
The protocol is “to reassure the public” that the school district has the issue in hand, he said.