After ‘Threat Complaint,’ Solon Springs School District Board Criticized For ‘Lack of Communication’

UPDATE Following 2/14 Story

SOLON SPRINGS, Wis. — Emotions were high Tuesday night at a special Solon Springs School District board meeting over safety and security procedures within the district.

The meeting was called after a “threat complaint” by a student on Monday, February 5th. According to the district and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, they determined the threat was a misunderstanding. They say the student was talking about paintball and the comments were taken out of context. Before yesterday’s meeting, superintendent Pete Hopke told Fox21 he wants reassure the community that the school is safe.

“We’ve taken every measure possible to ensure that there is not threat to our students and staff,” Hopke said. “And just reassure them that we are going to be vigilant, to determine if there are any threats and maintain that safety.”

During the board meeting, community members — including parents, students, and teachers — voiced their dissatisfaction with how the district handled the incident, as well as the communication afterwards. Several parents said they did not receive the emails from the district and found out from social media or their kids.

“I wasn’t here to speak,” said one parent. “I was here to listen, but when you’re trying to listen and there’s no communication and nothing coming back, that leaves the anxiety that you can probably hear in my voice right now. That I’m sure the whole room feels right now.”

“As far as community and the people who are in higher power, which are all of you sitting here, we’re looking at you for guidance. We’re looking at you saying ‘how can fix the situation we’re in as a community?’ We’re part of this community. We’re parents, we’re community members, we’re churchgoers, we’re all in this community together. What are we going to do to fix this? How are you going to communicate back, because email is not working.”

Emotions continued to rise as the meeting went on. The public comment portion of the meeting began with those who had filled out forms to speak, but quickly devolved. People began speaking from their seats and raising their voices. Two deputies were in attendance and intervened at times.

After an hour and a half, the board closed the meeting. They will reconvene on February 26th for this month’s regularly scheduled school board meeting.