By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
During the past week, officials from Otsego Public Schools and Plainwell Community Schools emailed a letter to parents/guardians of students in their respective districts.
Both revolved around issues involving school safety.
The letter from Plainwell officials went out on Friday, Sept. 13.
“We want to make you aware of some ongoing rumors that are currently circulating through Allegan County,” the letter stated. “Stemming strictly from social media, many hoax posts are being created across the country and state. These are then copied and altered slightly to make it appear to be a direct local threat.”
According to the PCS letter, such rumors resulted in Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital going into lockdown on Friday, Sept. 13.
“(The hospital lockdown in Allegan) has only fueled additional rumors,” the PCS letter said.
One such rumor was that Allegan High School had also gone into lockdown the same day. That, however, was false.
“Allegan High School did NOT go into lockdown nor shelter in place; there was NO active-shooter situation,” the PCS letter said. “This was confirmed directly by local law enforcement.”
PCS officials reiterated that the safety of students and staff was the top priority for the district.
“We take all threats seriously, we report anything we receive to law enforcement and directly investigate every situation that is brought to our attention,” the letter said. “If you hear anything related to school safety, please alert your teacher, administrator and Officer Bob Farris.
“We will take the necessary steps to keep our kids and staff safe. We want to know when you hear rumors, have concerns or receive something on social media that we need to know about, please let us know.”
The letter from OPS, attributed to district superintendent Jeffery Haase, echoed those sentiments.
“Otsego Public Schools takes all threats seriously and will investigate every situation,” he said. “This is a good time to remind ourselves and our kids of responsible behavior on social media. Posting information can often lead to more anxiety and fear and complicate investigations.
“We ask that if you or your child sees something concerning, report it, don’t repost it. Any concerns can be reported to a teacher, principal, school resource officer, local law enforcement or OK2SAY.”
Haase cited a significant increase in threats across the state toward schools, as reported by the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center.
“Otsego Public Schools has not received any threats, but our local law enforcement will be more visible during drop off and pick-up throughout the district over the next few days as a proactive response,” he said.
“It is not uncommon to see our local law enforcement officers at our schools as they are key partners in our commitment to school safety and we encourage them to be at our schools and engage with students and families.”
