Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Haines School officials say operations are back to normal after they identified the person who wrote a school shooting threat on a bathroom stall wall last week. Police and school officials say there is no active threat to the students, but superintendent Roy Getchell said the incident was a jarring reminder for the school of how important security is in the 2020s.

"Frankly, Uvalde happened," he said, referring to the 2022 Texas shooting that killed 21 people. "The stakes are higher."

By Wednesday, about a week after the shooting threat was reported, there appeared to be no visible police presence at the school, and staff reported normal attendance. On Oct. 17, a student reported graffiti in a bathroom with the words "school shooting on 10/19." On Oct. 19, Getchell estimated that fewer than a quarter of students came to class.

On the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 20, the school sent an email to parents saying it had identified the person who made the threats, and said there was no longer any active threat.

"There is a plan in place moving forward and we feel confident in the safety of our schools. To the extent that we can, we will address any concerns you may have," the email said.

Haines School superintendent Roy Getchell declined to release details about how the person was identified. He said the incident was rattling for students and staff.

"It was disruptive to the learning process, and psychologically, it shook a lot of folks. It's been a tough week in that regard," said Getchell.

Getchell declined to speak about who the individual was, but according to the email, "Appropriate actions are being taken to address the situation with a balance of accountability as well as supportive measures that follow school district policy and other applicable law."

The incident forced many parents into the tough decision to keep their kids home.

"It's a really hard decision to make," said Adam McMahan, who has a 12-year-old and a 7-year-old at the school.

He said the event rattled his two boys. He said his 7-year-old wanted to know why someone would post a threat like that. His "hyper-organized" 12-year-old was planning escape routes for himself and his classmates. McMahan said it also rattled parents.

"It really brought home the vulnerability that we all have in the Chilkat Valley to any sort of mass casualty event," said McMahan, a physician at SEARHC.

Sean Arnold has a 6 and 8-year-old at the school. He said he met with Lilly Boron, the school principal on Thursday. He said the meeting reassured him that the administration was being upfront about threats, but he and his wife still decided to keep his kids home, forcing them to scramble for a babysitter.

"We decided to err on the side of safety until we knew more," he said. Arnold said he hoped the student would face punishment.

"Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think there needs to be accountability," said Arnold. "This affected me as a parent and all the other parents."

Nick Hesse also decided to keep his second grader home.

"I don't think I could go to work all day wondering if my kid was safe," he said.

By this week, Getchell and principal Lilly Boron said school felt back to normal.

"It's a hum of activity," said Boron.

Getchell said the school would hold separate assemblies for middle and high schoolers as a way to debrief students on the incident. Elementary students would be debriefing with their teachers.

"It's an opportunity to remind people how serious this is. Threats are never a joke," he said.

The school also sent out a survey to parents to get feedback on the school's response to the incident. Getchell said within an hour of sending it out on Monday, 40 parents had responded. He said he would share results when they are compiled.

The school also installed a buzz-in security system. The camera system hasn't been fully implemented, but will eventually allow staff to unlock the doors with a smartphone app. Visitors will be able to push a button, which will activate a doorbell camera that administrators can see before unlocking the doors from the office.

The system was recommended during a security audit in 2019, but Getchell said the school's priorities shifted during the COVID years. Earlier this year, it settled on a system called Openpath, which is used by other districts in the state including Anchorage.