SOUTH WHIDBEY RECORD: Law enforcement role in school threats debated
South Whidbey School District board members reviewed the district’s threat assessment procedure at the July 14 public meeting. Some community members expressed concern that some threats were not immediately communicated to law enforcement officials.
Commenters referred to a recent incident where a threat was posted online but the school did not notify law enforcement. Superintendent Josephine Moccia, in explaining the lack of notification in that particular instance, said “we knew immediately where the student was, the level of threat, and it was not an imminent threat.”
Board Member Andrea Downs said they work with a network of people in a threat situation who “are actively working to reduce the involvement of law enforcement when it is not necessary.” She added that because of implicit biases people unconsciously hold toward those who belong to demographic groups other than their own, school administrators contacting law enforcement even when the system doesn’t necessitate it might tend to perceive minority students as more threatening than others. “When we think about whether or not we are calling in law enforcement, we want to have systems and structures in place to check our ladder of inference and to ensure that we’re not engaging in unintentional bias.”
For the rest of the story, see the article by Karina Andrew in the South Whidbey Record.
On the Ballot in November 2021 – South Whidbey School District:
- Position 2 – Incumbent Andrea Downs vs Dawn Tarantino
- Position 4 – Incumbent Marnie Jackson vs Farrah Manning Davis
- Position 5 – Incumbent Ann Johnson vs Bree Kramer-Nelson
