With a series of threats reported within the Hamilton County school district, the Board of Education is planning for more dialogue around school safety.
On Wednesday, Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett told county commissioners that there have been 22 arrests related to school threats since classes started Aug. 7, and 34 threats have been investigated.
The threats have ranged from a student on the second day of school reportedly saying there was an explosive in the student’s backpack that would blow up the school to a 12-year-old student on Thursday allegedly threatening to kill everyone at her table.
Hamilton County Schools officials have been investigating threats of mass violence for several years, Superintendent Justin Robertson said. Two years ago, he said, the district had more threats at this point than it does now.
“This is not something that is new to us,” he said at Thursday’s school board meeting. “We have been very proactive in looking into these threats and making sure that we’re keeping students and schools safe.”