EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – The Neillsville School District is responding to backlash after a precautionary lockdown last Thursday following a report of a possible firearm on campus.
While no weapon was found, parents and students did not like how the situation was handled.
One parent, Bridget Lokken said “I’m sure I’m not the only parent who stayed up with their kid til one in the morning trying to help them process what happened. Again, nothing happened, but to them the threat was real.”
Her daughter, Lilli Lokken is a seventh grader at the middle school. She said “My friends, all of them were scared.”
When explaining how the day played out, Superintendent Corey Peterson said “11:50, it was 11:52 I believe, that the school was going to be going into lockdown. Based upon a report of a potential weapon on campus, while that was being investigated til 12:22 when it was lifted.”
After the lockdown was lifted, the rest of the school day went back to its original plans which was what some are upset with.
Lilli said “they acted like 800 students weren’t traumatized.”
Taking to social media, multiple parents voiced their frustrations about how the situation was treated both during the lockdown and after.
During the lockdown, Superintendent Peterson said “police were on scene during the period of time, directing traffic and making sure we knew what was taking place. So under their guidance and their leadership, we worked together to make sure we had the lockdown in place to secure it for the kids.”
He said the school district held a meeting Friday night to go over the incident, and recommend possible ways to cope with what happened.
“To overview the events of the day. Talked about trauma informed, talked about what strategies are out there. How can we help support the students, the staff and the community as we try to process and move forward,” he said.
Adding that prioritizing students and staffs mental health was at the top of their list. However some still feel more can be done.
Bridget Lokken said “An intruder could’ve been in that place, an intruder could’ve shot them. They didn’t know, and all the school can do is read from a packet and say ‘and here are some apps by the way. Just because nothing was found doesn’t mean everything’s okay.”
She also mentioned her frustration with the school’s latest construction project not being security focused.
“They just spent millions of dollars renovating the school using construction… and I noticed, none of the new construction had metal detectors. You know how much safety can be implemented by just using metal detectors,” she said.
Superintendent Peterson said during the session Friday night with parents, the school district is open to any ideas the community or parents have. He said “they are opportunities for us to grow and learn as well.”