Kansas school accused of mishandling student safety issues

ERIE, Kan. — Parents in one southeast Kansas town say they’re outraged and have decided to speak out, after they say a school threat was grossly mishandled by school administrators.

“There needs to be a big change,” said Jeremy Ewan, parent of an Erie High School student.

That’s the feeling among a group of parents in Erie, Kansas, after several high school students came forward about an alleged threat made by one of their peers.

Sponsored

class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex">

“When I found out exactly how the girls, my daughter included, was treated I was furious,” said Lori Hendrickson, parent of an Erie High School student.

On September 29, Lori Hendrickson’s daughter, Grace, reported what she says were comments and threats about a school shooting.

She says a sophomore boy threatened to shoot up the high school. After recent school shootings across the nation, Grace feared the worst.

So, she took her concerns to the high school principal, Robert Schneeburger.

“He said he was going to shoot up the school, and he was like, ‘And you heard this?’ And I was like, ‘Yes.’ And he goes, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And the principal looked at me and said You’re over exaggerating. You’re just being dramatic. He’s just joking,” said Grace Brown, Erie High School student.

“It shouldn’t have taken nine students to come forward. One is enough,” said Lori Hendrickson.

“They always tell us, if something happens, then report it. Then we report it and get degraded and put down, like we were the problem,” said Taeleigh Schultz, Erie High School student.

Erie police were called to the school, but the student was allowed to leave the building with a parent before police could interview him.

“(We) went and located the juvenile, and then he was arrested and brought back up to the Erie Police Department,” said Brett Ross, Erie Police Chief.

Gavin Small is charged as a juvenile with seven felony counts of criminal threat.

The school district posted on its Facebook page that the students reported a potential threat to the administration, and at no point was there an active threat to students or staff.

However, many parents say the threat alone warranted a more organized response by school administrators.

“I think there could have been some things that could have been handled differently,” said Brett Ross, Erie police chief.

“They need to treat everything as a viable threat and respond accordingly. If it’s not, so what? It’s our kids. It’s your responsibility,” said Jeremy Ewan, parent of an Erie High School student.

We reached out to Principal Schneeburger and Superintendent Scott Palser for comment on the parents’ complaints that the principal was unprofessional and that he mishandled the reported threats.

The superintendent says, quote, “I really can’t comment on the situation that occurred at the high school.” He went on to say, “It’s important to know that USD 101 takes any threat to our students and staff seriously.” End quote.

As parents learned of the potential threat, some called for the principal’s resignation, due to what they claim was a gross mishandling of student safety.

One week later, on October 7, Superintendent Palser issued a letter to parents, stating that Principal Schneeburger will be away from Erie High School for a period of time.

“It needs to say, ‘no, the principal’s on leave while we do an investigation into how we responded to the threat.’ Let’s be real with it,” said Jeremy Ewan, parent of an Erie High School student.

The superintendent wouldn’t say if the events were connected, because he can not comment on personnel matters due to confidentiality. Parents we talked to say the district’s letter left them with more questions than answers, and feelings of distrust and doubt.

“I send my kids to the school every day, trusting them, and now that is broken and you will never get it back,” said Lori Hendrickson.

Charges against Gavin Small are public record, and he is currently not in custody.

We also reached out to each elected member of the USD 101 school board, but received no reply.