SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – School threats have been on the rise in Central Texas over the last few weeks.
Many of the threats have been hoaxes, but it can leave a lasting impact on students.
Last week, a prank call forced San Marcos High School to go into a lockdown. Police responded and went through the school until they determined there was no threat. This caused students to miss a day of learning.
”We really work hard at full child development in San Marcos and an incident like this, that we don’t control, that is somebody outside our building is the frustrating part,” said Dr. Michael Cardona, San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District superintendent.
Cardona said these threats have to be taken seriously whenever they are received. However, responding to them could mean a day without learning.
“You know we just have recovered from COVID which is something we didn’t control, but then you have this issue which we don’t necessarily control and so yes there is learning loss,” said Cardona.
Cardona said there are no make-up days. Since this was a criminal offense, the district will submit a waiver to the state so that attendance can be wiped out for the day and they will still receive credit for it.
“It is really difficult for kids, for high school kids in particular, and for kids who come from a certain demographic that have lack of access to mental health resources, when something like this happens,” Cardona said. “Then we have to stop educating and just take care of the kid first.”
State Representative James Talarico, a former educator, said it is concerning to hear about the uptick in school threats.
“Every Parent, every family member should feel comfortable that when they send their child off in the morning to school that child will be safe all day long until they return home,” Talarico said.
That’s why he said more needs to be done by law makers.
“Until we as politicians summon the political courage to enact common sense gun safety reform our kids are going to be hiding under desks and planning for a mass shooter event on their campus,” Talarico said.
Talarico went on to say that many schools lack the proper number of school counselors. He’s hoping more school funding will help kids deal with these traumatic incidents.