Parent presses board over delayed notification after Burns Middle incident; board reviews state law and policy changes on threats

Jessica Lopez Otalvaro, a teacher and parent, told the Dixon County Board on Aug. 28 she was concerned that parents learned about an incident involving students at Burns Middle School more than 24 hours after it was posted on social media and that the district’s robocall arrived late.

"If my son is safe, that is all that matters," Lopez Otalvaro said, but added she expected more prompt notification to ease parental concern and asked the district to consider improving its timeliness and transparency while recognizing legal limits involving minors.

Board and staff members responded that state law and district policy have recently changed. During the meeting, staff noted a new state requirement that districts make a call if there has been a credible threat; the board will begin reporting the number of such calls quarterly. Separately, administrators discussed proposed revisions to policy 6.309 (zero-tolerance offenses) and 6.303 (interrogations and searches). Staff said the key change in policy 6.309 is that a threat must be deemed credible by a school threat-assessment team before it qualifies as a zero-tolerance offense; staff also said they would add language to related policies to reflect local practice (for example, references to alternative-school assignments and hearings).

Board members said they would bring the revised language back on first read next month and that the district had already conducted state-provided training for administrators on searches required under the new state rule.

No disciplinary details about the Burns Middle incident were provided during the public comment because staff said minors were involved and legal privacy limits apply.