Buses were already rolling when school in Adair County was abruptly canceled Wednesday morning after the report of a threatening social media post.
Superintendent Jason Faulkner told the Community Voice that the district became aware of the threat sometime around 6:15 a.m. and there was no time to investigate its validity before making a decision about whether to continue with the school day.
“I had to make a bad decision either way,” Faulkner said.
The district is working with the Columbia City Police, Adair County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police to find where the threat originated. A photo of the threat, originally posted on Snapchat, includes a photo of a handgun and specifically names Adair County.
Faulkner said only a handful of administrative staff members are on campus today.
“Until we get clarity on this we are not doing any activities on the campus,” he said.
Adair is just one of several schools in the region that has cancelled school this week following a threat. Like several of the other schools, Faulkner said they intend to prosecute anyone making threats.
“Nine times out of ten they are not going to do anything,” he said. “They think it’s a joke. It is not going to be a joke.”
Faulkner said the district will keep the community informed as the investigation continues.
“We are taking every safety precaution we can to make sur our kids are safe,” he said.
In a previous social media posts, Faulkner addressed the threats that have been reported in other communities:
“Over the past several days, there have been many threats of school safety across our state and region. Many of them have been vague threats that were sent to multiple school districts while others were specific threats to specific schools through social media outlets.
“At this time, we asked that parents, students, and our community come together to help our community not be impacted by such threats and the ensuing fear and uncertainty that follow.
"Parents, please take a few minutes to discuss the seriousness of social media, verbal, or written threats of school safety with your child.
"Students we challenge you to not fall victim to these trends. With such threats there would likely be severe disciplinary consequences and law enforcement involvement.
"Community members we ask you to let us or law enforcement know if you see any form of threat on social media or in our community.
"All threats will be taken seriously, fully investigated and severe disciplinary consequences will be likely result. We will also work with local law enforcement to pursue legal charges to the fullest extent of the law.
"Adair County Schools is a wonderful place to learn and work. We strive daily to make it the safest environment possible for our students, staff and our visitors. We ask everyone in our community band together to stop this hurtful trend of making threats towards schools safety.
"Thanks for your time and we hope you have a great afternoon.”
