By William Meiners
Herald Staff Writer
[private]Breckenridge parents expressed concerns over communication policies regarding a recent incident at the high school during a special board meeting last Thursday.
In mid-February, a student was investigated for inappropriate comments on social media about the shooting at Michigan State University and arrested a week later when weapons were seized at that student’s residence.
According to the Gratiot County Prosecutor’s Office, on February 15, Brandon Weslock, Breckenridge Police Chief, responded to a tip from OK2SAY, a student safety program that allows for anonymous reporting of potentially harmful or criminal activities.
“The student’s electronic devices were then forwarded to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab for analysis,” said Laura Bever, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney.
On February 23, with the lab analysis in hand, law enforcement conducted the search of the residence. The student was then taken into custody and placed in a juvenile detention center on a delinquency petition. Michigan law, however, prohibits the release of any identifying information and specific contents about that petition.
In the immediate aftermath of the arrest, some parents voiced their frustrations, largely through social media, about how the incident was reported. Thursday’s public meeting, attended by about 20 people, was a chance to clear the air.
Wade Slavik, superintendent of Breckenridge Schools, characterized the conversations as respectful and coming from “a place of care” for staff and students. “All in our community want what is best for our staff and students,” he said. “Public comment shared concerns about safety, communication, and education for BCS emergency protocols. There were also sharing of thanks for the investigation and processes in place to help keep staff and students safe.”
“Parents want to know that their students are safe,” Slavik said. “As a parent of four children in the district myself, I understand the frustration of not knowing specific details. However, I can assure parents that if safety is ever in question, our administrative team will put our emergency practices into motion and communicate to our parents and community if there is an emergency.”
From a legal perspective, everything was done by the book, according to Bever. “Everyone acted appropriately,” she said. “Whoever reported it on OK2SAY did exactly what they should have done. And the school did exactly what they should have done based on when they knew certain things.”
Bever extended kudos to the tipster, school officials, and Weslock for responding correctly to the situation. Protecting the public is the utmost priority, she said, but in regard to juvenile court, the goal is not necessarily to punish, but rather offer services for some rehabilitation. Of course, the severity of crimes are a factor, but helping a juvenile get back on the right track is a “very important role of the juvenile court system,” Bever said.
Police and school officials determined that there was no immediate risk to the public in mid-February. Through a weeklong investigation, however, a second set of actions was warranted, resulting in the arrest of the student.
Bever said law investigations within a small town can be hampered whenever the “social media wheels start churning.” That, along with the legalities of what can be revealed concerning cases with juveniles, requires both school officials and police investigators to be cautious on a couple of fronts.
Though the bottom line, according to the prosecutor boils down to responding correctly to the moment. “We want to make sure there’s not a risk to the public, and nobody is saying that there was at any point,” she said. “Everybody did what they were supposed to do at the right time.”
There are a few takeaways from the incident.. Specifically, Bever wants students to realize that posting or even “going along with threats” on social media can quickly lead to an investigation. Law enforcement will go through electronic devices and the consequences can be severe.
From the perspective of school administrators, “where school safety is at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Slavik promised that Breckenridge Schools will continue to look for ways to better educate staff and students with the goal of making the buildings as safe as possible. Over the last year, the administrators and teachers took ALICE training sessions for an active shooter. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. Additionally, the district has been assessed by an outside agency, Secure Education Consultants (SEC), to better prepare for an emergency situation.
The open dialogue, as evidenced by last week’s meeting, remains productive and important. “Our administrative team will continue to meet and discuss school safety,” Slavik said. “We plan to put an even greater focus on staff training and continue to review our SEC safety assessment. We will continue to implement the steps outlined by the SEC safety assessment. We will also discuss as an administrative team what situations are appropriate for our team to provide a statement to parents and the community. We’ll be ready to communicate situations more quickly and effectively.”
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