SALADO, Texas — The Salado Independent School District school board meeting was packed Monday night as it was the first meeting since word of a violent threat at Salado Middle School.
Salado ISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Novotny confirmed to 6 News that there was an "inappropriate question" asked by a student to another student in class. He said it was handled immediately and investigated by the district's threat assessment team.
The threat assessment team is made up of teachers, administrators, school counselors, and law enforcement, according to Dr. Novotny.
Salado ISD's administrative team decided not to send a notice about the situation to parents because the assessment team deemed the threat was not credible and also because it would violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA.)
"If there was a credible threat or there was actual danger involved then we are allowed to share that information," Novotony explained.
Parents and staff members of Salado ISD tell 6 News there was panic and concern about the threat for days because the district did not address the allegations. Posts were circulating around on social media in the days following May 8.
On May 12, the Village of Salado Police Department posted on Facebook stating they were aware of the threat and that they were investigating. It was taken down shortly after many parents shared their frustrations and concerns on the post. A spokesperson for the village told 6 News it was deleted because it was a school district matter.
Six days after the violent threat was made, on May 13, Novotny released a letter to parents. You can read the letter in full here.
"[The situation] was extremely well handled," the superintendent told 6 News. "The downfall was the communication because of all the misinformation that was sent out and spread through social media, word of mouth, and that's what we need to do a better job with in the future."
Novotny told 6 News the district will be working with attorneys to figure out how they can legally communicate with parents more about threats. He said he wasn't sure what it would look like quite yet and the notices would be very limited in details. He hopes it will stop the not necessary panic on social media, too.
"Someone unfortunately is spreading information that is not true and then some people, because we're not sending information out, they take that as truth, even though it's not," Novotny added. "So yes, we have to correct that and get ahead of that in the future."
Meanwhile, parents and staff members are demanding transparency and for resources to be provided to help the violence in schools.
James Whited attends Salado Middle School where the non-credible happened on May 8. He said he has been scared to go to school ever since.
"If I know I'm scared, and I know other kids are scared," he said. "It affected children pretty badly."
He is frustrated that the district didn't communicate with his mom, Samantha Crawford, about the situation for days. He wants the adults in charge of his safety and education during the day to make changes.
"I think parents should know, way before four or five days," Whited said. "They should know immediately what happened-- that way If something does happen, they can come get their kids from school."
Whited's mom Crawford said she is disappointed in the district and the lack of communication has been a major problem.
"I want my kid to be safe when they go to school," the mother of three Salado ISD students said. "I dropped my children off thinking that they're going to be safe, that they're going to be loved and cared for, like I would. They failed this time. I could have sent my kid to school, and something really could have happened. I don't want that phone call."
She feels the district is not taking her children's safety seriously when it comes to the violent threat. She wants transparency and communication regardless of the situation.
"It came out of the person's mouth that sounds pretty much like a threat and that it should be taken very seriously," she added. "Not credible is not letting the parents know and they're not taking accountability for that. That was not credible."
An outgoing Thomas Arnold Elementary administrator told the school board Monday night that the campus and staff have experienced the hardest behaviors ever in this school year.
"We've evacuated classes for aggressive students who cycle through behaviors weekly," Jennifer Winkler told the packed school board room.
She provided a few examples of what has happened on campus.
"Staff [have been] jumped on from behind and pulled down by the hair, kicked in the head, spit in their faces, slapped, pinched until skin was removed and bleeding that more times than we could ever totally admit, and witnessed every type of bodily fluid you could think of," Winkler explained.
She wants Salado ISD to be proactive, instead of reactive, when it comes to addressing the violent concerns and also transparency.
We are in fact needy and in need of your attention and efforts as our world is presenting to us new challenges at younger ages than ever before," the outgoing Salado ISD staff member said. "Consider creating a committee that evaluates the issue plans and then hopes to improve practices across the district, not just our campus."
School safety matters were not on the school board meeting agenda Monday, so the not decision or action was made.