Safety and Security Announcement
Dear Holly Area Schools students, staff and families,
The health, safety and well-being of our students, staff and families is our number one priority.
Today, a number of Michigan school districts were affected by false reports of an active shooter on their campuses. From what we understand, schools received calls with these threats, which turn out to be unsubstantiated. It appears to be part of a hoax known as “swatting” that is targeting schools across the country.
While Holly Area Schools did not experience this issue directly, we believe that it is important to remind everyone about the seriousness of making a false threat, which is a serious crime. Swatting incidents – threats made to schools with the purpose of triggering a response by police and first responders – create fear and panic throughout school communities, and disrupt first responder agencies. States across the U.S. have experienced similar mass swatting attempts in recent weeks, including several other schools in Michigan today.
As a reminder, any comments or gestures that are of a threatening nature of any kind will be investigated thoroughly by our administration and law enforcement and can carry serious disciplinary consequences including expulsion and criminal penalties.
We take all reports of potential threats seriously and make every effort to ensure our students and staff are safe. We encourage our students and school community to report anything that could be a threat of any kind to school safety.
For parents and families, we thank you for having conversations regarding school safety with our students. To keep our schools safe and minimize disruptions to our learning environment, we need school administrators, staff, parents, families and students working together and delivering a consistent message.
Working together, we are #BronchosUnited.
Sincerely,
Scott Roper, Superintendent – Holly Area Schools
Jerry Narsh, Chief of Police – Village of Holly
HAS Safety and Security Announcement Feb 7 2023