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Teacher tells board a school lockdown with a gun left community 'hurt' and asks for better transparency and protocols
Summary
A teacher at I.W. Wells High School described a recent on‑campus lockdown after a student brought a gun, criticized lack of staff training and communication during the incident, and asked the district to ensure protocols, training, and clearer parent communications.
Rene Olivas, a teacher at I.W. Wells High School, told the board on Jan. 27 that a recent campus lockdown after a student was found with a gun left staff, students and parents without timely information and without established protocols. Olivas said substitutes lacked keys, some students were unsupervised in hallways, a potential suspect was left with a community organization member without explanation, and social media videos circulated while classrooms received little information for nearly two hours.
"Fortunately nothing happened that was tragic," Olivas said, "but there was hurt to the community. The family members, the parents were hurt. The trust was hurt." She urged the district to ensure there are lockdown protocols and staff training, better communication during incidents, and transparent post‑incident briefings for parents and teachers.
President Morase acknowledged a process to address the situation and asked district staff to follow up with the speaker. Superintendent Carranza noted that the district would address the incident through established procedures and staff follow‑up.
Why it matters: The speaker described operational failures during a potentially dangerous incident that could affect student safety and parental trust; she asked for concrete protocols, training and communication improvements.
What’s next: The board directed staff (Mr. Steele/Judson Steele) to connect with the school community to follow up.
