Parents, teachers and, more so than anyone, students, have had an extremely stressful week in terms of notifications, lockdowns and shelters in place being issued.
On May 10, parents were issued a text alert about an unsubstantiated threat circulating on Snapchat. Extra security was added to schools, while this threat was investigated.
On May 16, a notice was sent to parents about another threat circulating over social media. This threat was investigated and found to be unsubstantiated. Later on the same day, a shelter in place was issued to schools as a precaution due to an incident at Desert Willow Elementary School surrounding the arrest of an individual.
On Thursday morning, a concerned call by someone led to a district wide shelter in place being issued. According to the school district, this was put in place based on a suspicious male in the area of Desert Willow carrying a rifle. Once the situation was found to be unrelated, schools resumed normal operations.
This recent list of precautions has felt overwhelming, especially during a time period where teachers are trying to handle finals and end of year activities. Constantly fearing for our children is, of course, upsetting to everyone. The Carlsbad Police Department and Carlsbad Municipal Schools are making a number of very difficult decisions every week. The school district is doing a good job communicating critical messages throughout these incidents.
We want everyone to know that the Carlsbad Police Department, the Eddy County Sheriff’s Department and all other nearby agencies are assisting in every way possible. We also want everyone to know that the safety of our community is, of course, the absolute highest priority.
Modern school districts and law enforcement agencies have to navigate an incredible list of possible threats and challenges, ranging from posts made over social media to more tangible threats from witnesses around our district’s schools. All threats must be taken seriously, but the ongoing burden of continually responding to these threats also wears down on young children.
We know that every other community in the country is busy dealing with a similar host of issues. The City of Carlsbad will continue to work closely with our school district, with the county, with the state, with our area’s behavioral health experts, and with all of our parents and grandparents. Please keep all of our school officials, law enforcement officers and our community’s children in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway