FTM broke news this morning of a bomb threat that was called into Highlands High School at 7:00 AM. Students were taken to the Highlands Middle School as a precaution upon arrival to school, and were kept there until approximately 9:00 AM while Fort Thomas Police and other nearby units swept the school for explosive material.
FTM talked to Assistant Superintendent Rita Byrd to get more details.
According to Byrd, a voicemail that detailed the bomb threat was called into the Fort Thomas Independent School office this morning. No details were offered with regard to the gender or age of the caller, or what exactly was said.
Some parents on our social media pages (Facebook and Twitter) are asking why they weren’t notified of the situation right away, before they dropped their children off to school.
“We moved as quickly as we could and I hope parents understand that the safety of the people in the building is our first priority. As soon as we addressed those safety issues we implemented our plan for these situations,” said Byrd. “We meet with the principals every month to review these procedures and we work closely with the Fort Thomas Police and Fire each year.”
According to Byrd, police were called immediately. Once they were confident premises were safe, they began the safety protocol.
“We have backup plans and procedures with these situations and our first priority is making sure the students are safe,” said Byrd. “We rely on the police as experts and per their recommendation, we don’t publicize our backup plans. I‘m sure we will meet soon to discuss how we can improve the process.”
As of noon, students have resumed normal activities, however many parents have picked up their children. It is a state law that if a child leaves the school, they must be counted as absent because the school is paid by the average daily attendance. While FTIS did not say whether or not it would be an excused absence, that decision will be made with all the information available later today.
