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Parent praises response but criticizes Collins School lockdown communications
Summary
A parent commended staff for safely handling the Collins School lockdown but told the board the district’s initial messaging left parents uncertain; superintendent said he responded and explained the district’s intent to send quick alerts to minimize rumor spread.
At the public comment portion of the meeting, Amanda Buckle, a parent of two students in the district, praised Collins School staff and Principal Green for their response during a recent lockdown but criticized the district’s communication to families.
Buckle said a text message sent Oct. 25 at 9:08 a.m. stated only that “all children at the Collins School are safe,” but provided no further detail for 10 minutes, leaving parents uncertain about whether students had been evacuated or whether there had been an armed threat. She said she had seen conflicting accounts from other parents, some who reported a student reached for a gun, and asked the district to improve training for staff who send messages to families.
“I don’t understand if it was an adult parent or I heard that there was a gun that a kid reached for,” Buckle said. “I just want you to understand how upsetting it was to receive a text at 9:08 when my kid should have been in school that she was safe.”
Superintendent Dr. Lattwiss replied that he had received Buckle’s email and had responded. He said the district’s practice is to send an initial, brief message quickly to reassure families and then follow up with more information as it becomes available to stay ahead of social media and rumor. “You try to send out a message as fast as you can to try to calm the situation and then come back out after with more information as you’re able to do so,” he said.
The exchange concluded without additional public evidence about the alleged gun‑related incident; board members thanked Collins staff for handling the situation.
The meeting later approved an HIB incident report presented in executive session; details of that report remain confidential as part of the executive‑session record.
