Parents press Cornwall-Lebanon board for stronger safety response after social-media threat

Courtney Butera and Brad Hune told the Cornwall-Lebanon School District board they want more proactive safety measures after a social-media threat that prompted anxiety and student pickups.

Butera, a parent who said she lives in the district, recounted receiving an image indicating a planned school shooting scheduled for 10:06 a.m. the next day. "I am Courtney Butera. I live within the district and I wanted to start by saying, commending this district ... I am here to discuss the TikTok threat that occurred on Tuesday, October 7 and how the district, in my opinion, mishandled the threat and how we can learn from this and do better," she said. Butera said she called the school after receiving the message, had her daughter picked up, and criticized the district for sending a mass email roughly 18 minutes after the threatened time and for staff sharing unconfirmed details with students.

Brad Hune, who identified himself as a local union representative and railroad safety officer, urged the board to be proactive instead of reactive and asked specifically where the district stands on installing metal detectors or adding more security. "Instead of us being reactive to anything that might happen in the future, I would much rather us be proactive," he said.

Why it matters: Parents described immediate emotional harm — children watching clocks and friends being picked up — and raised concrete questions about notification timing, counseling, and physical security. Those concerns speak to district emergency communication protocols and how social-media threats are handled in real time.

Board and superintendent response: Board President Mrs. Schlegel thanked the speakers and said the comments would be taken under advisement. Superintendent Dr. Dimencic acknowledged the alarm such incidents cause and said the district evaluates each situation and "will evaluate them" to look for improvements, but noted the district's response is constrained by student confidentiality and safety protocols. "We have 3 priorities when something occurs, and that's to keep everyone safe. That's to make sure that we are communicating factual information. We also want to make sure that we do hold accountable those that are doing it, if we're able to do that," Dr. Dimencic said.

What was requested and what happened: Speakers asked why buses were not sent back, why school was not canceled, whether counseling was offered immediately and whether metal detectors or additional security could be installed. Dr. Dimencic said counseling and post-incident support are priorities and the district will continue to review procedures; he also said responses vary case by case.

Next steps and outstanding questions: The board did not announce new policy changes or a timetable for review at the meeting. Parents asked for clearer, faster family notification and for the district to consider hardware or staffing changes to prevent future incidents; the superintendent committed to continuing to review and reassess procedures.