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Scott County R-4 'Kelly' School District responds to school threats
BENTON, Mo. — Over the past several days, the Scott County R-4 “Kelly” School District and local law enforcement received several reports of social media posts about school shootings, prompting a discussion with students on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
During the investigation, the social media threats were not determined to be credible, but created to incite panic or fear, Superintendent Dr. Bradley J. Kolwyck said in a news release issued Wednesday. Consequently, three juveniles were taken into custody for reasons related to the posts, he said.
On Wednesday, the school district collaborated with the 33rd Juvenile Office and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office to educate students on how to handle threats they observe on social media.
The 33rd Circuit Chief Juvenile Officer Phillip Warren and Scott County Chief Deputy Ron Meredith talked to the students about “reporting not reposting” threats viewed on social media. The students learned the legal ramifications of posting and sharing threatening images.
“The school district believes in educating students and the current situation is not an exception,” Kolwyck said. “Schools are in the 'business' of education and sometimes those opportunities are difficult, but necessary.
He continued: “If we don’t take the time to have these conversations with our students, I believe that we are doing them a disservice. We have invested a lot of money over the past three years to upgrade the physical security of the school, but today’s conversations were invaluable.”
Kolwyck said the school district is considering hosting a community information meeting in the near future to inform and assist parents about the dangers of social media.