FARMINGTON — A student at Mt. Blue Middle School threatened violence at the school earlier in the week, Superintendent Chris Elkington revealed in a school safety update sent to parents and students, Dec. 16. However, the district has deemed the threat empty without any credible intent or plan, Elkington said.
Elkington wrote that Mt. Blue (RSU 9) administration and School Resource Officer Matthew Brann conducted an internal investigation after they were informed the student had made the comment to another student.
“MBMS Administration immediately investigated and found that what was said was said out of frustration and there was no credible threat,” Elkington wrote in the update. “The investigation included a parent coming to the school, the student being questioned, the student’s locker & book bag being searched, and the student’s friends and classmates being interviewed.”
“The words that were supposed to have been said have kind of been twisted,” Elkington said in a phone interview. “Upon reviewing and talking to, interviewing kids and finding out where it was done and how it was said, it wasn’t made as a threat — it was made as comments, but the comments were not appropriate … it was conversation going on.”
Elkington said the student “regrets what was said.”
The district released the update following an investigation conducted over the course of two days. Elkington said that the length of the investigation and delay in informing parents was because the threat was made at the end of the school day and required further examination the following day.
Elkington declined to comment on what measures the district is taking to address the student and their actions (following the investigation’s conclusion). However, Elkington said that to address a threat of violence, the district might provide or conduct “extra counseling,” a “risk assessment,” “psychological evaluation,” or a suspension from school grounds for a period of time depending on the context or severity of the situation.
Though it was not a credible threat, the situation has been taken with extra concern following the aftermath of a mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. The shooter, a 15-year-old sophomore at the school, killed four students and wounded seven others — six students and one teacher.
In addition, threats had been made on TikTok (a video-sharing social-media platform) promising “shootings and bombings at every school in the United States” on Friday, Dec. 17, reported by Sun Journal’s Vanessa Paolella. US law enforcement officials and school districts across the nation found the “threats are not credible.”
In addition, Maine schools have seen a wave of threats across the region. Threats — all of which were deemed not credible – were made against Auburn’s Edward Little High School, Lewiston schools, Gorham middle and high schools, and RSU 4 in Sabattus.
The other piece of the puzzle, RSU 9 Board of Directors Chair Carol Coles said, is that “Maine does have a high rate of gun ownership” — 46.8% of Maine households have at least one firearm, according to a study by RAND.
Elkington assured parents in the update that the “RSU 9 Admin Team has previously discussed what the public and us know led to the shooting in Michigan and how we would act if a series of similar events happened here.” They have discussed any potential steps, adjustments to the safety procedures the district should do with SRO Brann, he added.
“Our strong belief is that by following our present expectations around student, staff and school safety, with what we know did or did not happen in Michigan, that we are prepared to deal with a similar situation if the events we know of started to occur here,” Elkington wrote.
Town of Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles said in an interview that the school “ensures the safety of the schools” on an “ongoing basis” with the presence of SRO Brann. In addition, a safety committee comprised of local law enforcement, the District Attorneys’ Office and Juvenile Justice Division and RSU 9 staff meets regularly to update the school’s safety plan based on national threat-assessment standards.
“Nothing can prevent everything perfectly,” Coles said. “But in terms of our processes within the school, (the district does) make sure that we are covering all the bases.”
Elkington told the Sun Journal that he felt the district “handled (the threat) appropriately” and “followed our steps to the letter.”
However, in retrospect, he said he “could have sent some information out a little sooner, just to hopefully relieve people’s concerns and to let them know we were not trying to hide anything.”
Elkington said that the parents have had a “mixed reaction” to the update and the general news of the threat. Some want more information, others appreciate the update, he said.
Ultimately, Elkington said one of the school’s current priorities is “to talk to the kids.” SRO Brann spoke with each grade level to assure them “the school (is) safe … and that we all need to work together and be careful of comments that we make to each other that people will take as very bothersome in this time or (feel are) threatening.”
“If you make comments, you need to realize you’re gonna make people feel some worry, concern, and those (actions) are going to have consequences,” Elkington said.
Elkington concluded the notice to parents by emphasizing “that our administrators and school resource officer will be working from a higher level of concern over the next several days to hopefully ease concerns by helping our students and staff feel more secure in our schools.”
“We will continue to be diligent with investigating all threats and that we will ask for when necessary additional law enforcement presence,” he wrote.
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