A SWAT-call threat at Canton South High School on Oct. 20, 2025, was handled according to district safety protocols, Canton Local administrators told the board, but a nationwide ParentSquare outage delayed messages to families. The district said law enforcement and school staff executed safety procedures and no injuries were reported.

The superintendent said the threat was anonymous and computer-generated and commended the sheriff's office, security personnel, administrators and teachers for how they handled the incident. He and other officials said ParentSquare, the district's primary parent-communication service, did not deliver messages in a timely way because of an outage with Amazon Web Services, which affected the district's ability to notify families.

Because the district relies on ParentSquare for postings, automated calls and alerts, board members and staff discussed potential redundancy options, including the county/township Everbridge subscription, the district's stop-finder app and social media. Mark (township official) described Everbridge as an outward-facing subscription service that can post to Facebook, make calls and send emails automatically; staff said cost and coverage differences remain to be evaluated.

Board members also asked staff to clarify the difference between soft, partial and full lockdowns and how each level is communicated to students and families. The superintendent said lockdown drills are never unannounced to students, and that a soft lockdown may not be announced to all students to avoid unnecessary alarm, but he acknowledged parents' concerns when students were not immediately aware of the action.

Officials said several systems, including PowerSchool, were affected during the ParentSquare disruption and that some districts experienced broader impacts on attendance and grading systems tied to the same cloud services. The board asked staff to convene a tabletop review to document communications redundancies, define internal and external messaging by lockdown level, and report back with options for a backup plan.