Parents turned out in droves to Thursday night’s Boone County Board of Education meeting to express anger that a Conner High School student who the school said made threats against other students would be allowed to return to school.
Of the 19 speakers who expressed their opinion during the public comment section of the meeting, 15 were parents who were upset with Superintendent Matthew Turner’s decision.
The then-14-year-old student was taken into custody in October after the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said they received two reports of screenshots containing threats from the student that said he wanted to kill his teacher. Police also said the student made threats against other students.
Police said at the time that the student vaguely mentioned a school shooting but was more specific in saying, “im (sic) bringing a knife to school” and “its (sic) telling me to kill my teacher.”
One parent at Thursday night’s meeting said having the student and those he threatened in the same building would end badly.
“It doesn’t make sense and you don’t have to have a degree in psychology to figure this out. Why would you put a child back into an environment where he possibly could act out?” said Jim Kruspe, father to a ninth grade student at Conner High School.
Turner released a statement on Friday addressing the concerns.
“The Boone County Schools are fortunate to have an outstanding team of educators and mental health professionals trained to guide students through the toughest of life situations,” Turner’s statement said. “The safety of our students and staff is our greatest priority when making district decisions. We also partner in decision making with experienced legal counsel. With the assistance of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, our School Resource Officers, as well as the District Safety team, I can assure you all appropriate safety measures have been taken and are in place. Conner High School remains a safe school.”
During the meeting, one parent suggested the boy should be transferred to the RISE Alternative High School. A recent graduate said she noted glass windows that would allow a shooter to easily target people in her school.
