Le Mars Community Schools responds to second instance of threatening comments in as many weeks
Yesterday morning, a student at Le Mars Community Middle School made comments to other students regarding a potential threat to school safety. This is the second time in as many weeks that a Le Mars Community Schools student has made threatening comments. The Le Mars Police Department has investigated both threats and found neither one was credible. There is growing frustration with parents on how the district is communicating threat investigations to the public.
The Le Mars Community School District issued the following statement after the second incident:
“During the morning of Thursday, November 12, a middle school student reportedly made comments to fellow students regarding a potential threat to school safety. The students reported the situation to their principal, who immediately contacted local law enforcement. Law enforcement responded quickly and conducted a threat assessment, determining that the threat was not credible. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their swift response and continued commitment to keeping our schools safe.
We take all potential threats seriously, regardless of their credibility. Comments of this nature can create unnecessary fear, disrupt learning, and require significant time and resources to investigate. Moving forward, the school will consider disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion, when a student makes a threat that is determined to be not credible but was intended to disrupt teaching, learning, school operations, or create fear. Any disciplinary decisions will be made in accordance with district policy and applicable procedures.
Due to our legal obligation to maintain student confidentiality, we cannot share further details regarding the disciplinary action being taken in this particular case. However, we want our community to know that the district plans to pursue legal action and potential criminal charges. Finally, we want to commend the students who spoke up this morning. We encourage others to do the same if they find themselves in a similar situation in the future.”
