BOISE, Idaho — Amid national and local social media school threats, Boise School Board hosted a special meeting to address concerns about safety in the classroom.
Nick Smith, deputy superintendent of Operations for the Boise School District (BSD), said they do everything they can as a district to protect students and take threats seriously – the moment they receive them.
“We try to do everything we can to keep our schools safe for all students but at the end of the day it does take everyone and it does take a focus on our students wellbeing,” Smith said.
Smith said BSD has a thorough threat assessment process – to look in-depth at any security threats that are reported and determine if further action needs to be taken.
“The consequences range from it's not a threat to suspension and expulsion and everything in between,” Smith said.
BSD also employs 13 school resource officers and nine security officers – they are stationed across all Boise schools.
“They really are providing interior and exterior security to our schools,” Smith said.
In addition, the district has security cameras installed, keeps exterior perimeter doors locked, and uses a program that runs a background check on every visitor that comes into the building.
“Visitors are checked against the sex offender registry, and they are also checked against custom alert systems,” Smith said.
Smith said it’s important to speak out if a student or parent does hear or see any threats – and BSD will do everything they can to keep students safe at school.
“I have seen with confidence that they are handled in a judicious way – mindful that they are dealing with children – and they are dealing with situations that could or could not be very serious,” said Nancy Gregory, a BSD board member.