School Lock Down: The Details You Need To Know

What exactly happened on Friday, September 15, 2017 at the Page schools?

The Threat

A letter sent home to parents from Superintendent Varner states that on Friday, September 15, there was a credible threat that is believed to have originated from a gang outside of the Page area. LPNN was provided information from a spokesperson at the Page Police Department which states that the threat was received through text message, and the threat contained the mention of a shooting, possibly during the lunch period.

PUSD’s Actions

Once the threat was revealed to both the high school, and the School District, PUSD contacted Page Police Department and it was determined that for the safety and welfare of all, multiple schools within the district were placed on a soft lockdown.

Based on the information available at the time, and through the coordinated efforts of multiple agencies, the determination was made to let students out early in order to keep them safe. When asked about this decision, Superintendent Varner stated that after learning more information pertaining to the threat during a meeting on Monday, he feels that this decision was the best decision, and is thankful he is not reviewing the actions taken Friday from a ‘could’ve, would’ve, should’ve’ perspective.

Parent/Guardian Notification

Many concerned and frustrated parents contacted LPNN regarding the amount of notification they either did or did not receive from PUSD informing them of the early release. LPNN asked Superintendent Varner how the system works, and what happened.

How the notification system works: The information provided on the student’s emergency contact sheet is placed into the system, and then it is autodialed if activated. The system will work its way down the list of emergency contact information (numbers and emails) until there is an answer. The system is capable of sending out e-mails, phone calls, and text messages.

Problems with Delivery

LPNN asked Superintendent Varner about the issues parents had regarding not receiving notifications. This is the information he provided us: for the system to work, emergency contact information must be up-to-date. According to the analytic information the school district can obtain for their notification system, there were a total of 785 messages left and 191 phone numbers which had either changed or no longer in service. Other issues besides changed or disconnected phone numbers include old email addresses and the automated number being blocked.

Training

PUSD runs drills that cover a multitude of events from fire to events that can be considered placing Page into the dark-ages. Some of these drills also include coordination with Page emergency services.

In any emergency, including threats such as the one encountered on Friday, there is no guarantee when emergency services will be able to assist, and to address this, PUSD administrators are tasked with receiving training through FEMA in order to understand and know exactly what needs to be done during the first critical minutes of an emergency.

What Should Parents Do?

The best thing to do is make sure the contact information for your child is up-to-date. This includes removing old contacts, old numbers and/or emails, and ensuring that when you update contact information such as emails or phone numbers, you update your child’s school as well. Another thing parents should do is ensure that the PUSD notification number is added to contacts rather than blocked on any emergency contact phone. The number of the PUSD notification system is 928-608-4100.

LPNN wants to thank Superintendent Varner and the Page Police Department for providing us with this information.