District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill took the opportunity at Tuesday night’s school board meeting to remind parents and students alike that threats and threatening language are always taken seriously.
“That includes threats made online,” Gill said,” and what we want to let students know is that sharing and spreading those is also something that can be considered a threat or an offense. So, if you see something that doesn’t look right, or that scares you, or makes your think twice, we have our safe-to-help hotline that’s a statewide hotline, and there’s a link off our main webpage so people can report those things. And they can do anonymously or they can provide us their name and any details.”
Gill said emphasis on the subject was not coming as a result of any particular recent issue but rather as an important thing to keep in mind near the start of a new school year.
And school security doesn’t end when the last bell of the day rings.
The same metal detectors now in use in District 186 buildings are also being deployed to football games, where fans can expect to be asked to pass through.
The process was a smooth one last Friday night, according to Gill, when over 2,000 fans showed up to watch Springfield High take on Sacred Heart-Griffin.