JACKSON, Mich. — da Vinci Charter School District in Jackson upped its security on Monday after receiving multiple threats over the past week. Police arrested one student involved. Now Edmondson Security Solutions will monitor the grounds. The superintendent says it’s the best move to keep kids safe.
More and more schools are looking into their security as the number of student threats increases. Educators School Safety Network says on average it recorded about 50 threats a day since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
“Other schools are spending more money on lockdowns and safety and we knew that we had to put some effort into finding the right security for us,” said Sandy Maxson, Superintendent da Vinci Schools.
da Vinci K-12 is one of those schools having recently moved to a larger building.
“This building is about seven times as big as our other building and there are lots of areas that we don’t have eyes and ears on at all time and that made us nervous,” said Maxson.
The school received two recent threats in just the last week. One threat turned out to be not valid but closed the school on Thursday. Another threat on Saturday landed a student in police custody and expelled. Superintendent Sandy Maxson says that speed up their search.
“I called them Sunday morning after a threat on Saturday evening and I said is there any way we’d be able to have security tomorrow morning and he said we will make that happen,” said Maxson.
Private security company Edmondson Security Solutions already provides security for schools in Jackson County and Ann Arbor. They say there’s a big need for their kind of protection.
“There are threats everyday does that mean every threat is viable that somethings gonna happen no, but it’s complacency that lets bad things happen,” said Jeffrey Pardee, Partner of Edmonson Security Solutions. “So I applaud this school. They already take great security measures we simply are an add on to make their school that much safer.”
Maxson says parents have shared their approval.
"A lot of things I saw on Facebook were sandy thank you. Thank you for making sure our students are safe,” said Maxson.
Casey Cannons a long-time parent in the districts says she trusts the school.
“Our kids shouldn’t have to go to school with security or with the police or anything like that. They should be able to go and enjoy school but on the other hands I understand because it’s the protection of the students,” said Cannons. “I do believe in my heard that da Vinci is doing the best that they can do to support their kids and to keep their kids safe.”
The school hopes the move sends a message to other schools to take threats seriously. Michigan State Police warn that school threats are a serious crime and could lead to terrorism charges.
Want to see more local news ? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Appleand Android
and
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
