Parents Call For Tougher Policies After Separate Campus Threats at San Diego Unified Schools

As threats and hoaxes at schools seemingly become more commonplace across the county, at issue is how local districts should appropriately respond.

Two incidents at separate schools in San Diego this week have parents calling on the San Diego Unified School District to get tougher on students responsible for making the threats and improve the district’s communication with family members.

Lockdown Lifted at 3 Oceanside Schools After Unfounded Threat

“I don’t want to send my daughter to school knowing that the person she sits next to in whatever class could be the person that made this threat,” said Paige Carpenter of Clairemont.

Carpenter was one of dozens of parents who held their kids out of Marston Middle School this week after a student allegedly made a threatening post on social media.

Friday morning, about 50 parents told the principal of Marston they weren’t adequately informed of the investigation.

“It’s terrifying. It’s absolutely terrifying to get a message that there’s a threat to the school,” said Shawn Maher, who kept his 5th-grade daughter out of class.

Principal Jon Gollias sent three emails to parents this week after an anonymous post on an Instagram story page. NBC 7 is not giving specific details of the post to avoid amplifying the message.

After an investigation, the threat was deemed not credible and no suspect was identified. After the three-hour meeting, parents expressed frustration.

“They’re doing what they can, but there’s been no concrete ‘This is who did it, this is what’s happening to them, this is how it’s going to get better,’” said Carpenter.

“There needs to be a zero-tolerance policy. Kids need to see what they say online has an impact. There is no such thing as anonymity. We will find out who did this and they will be punished,” said Maher.

Meanwhile, also on Friday, a small group of parents met with the principal of Standley Middle School in University City.

A Standley student was suspended for two days after bringing what the school called an “imitation firearm” to campus.

While parents say they were not immediately notified, the district called it an isolated incident that did not warrant a school-wide alert.

But parents disagree. They're calling for change in district policy and arguing the student should be expelled.

“I know there’s protocols but I feel like the district should change their protocols for my child’s safety. I do not want to be another statistic in America of a school mass shooting,” said a mother who did not want to be identified.

San Diego Unified gave this statement to NBC 7:

"The Standley and Marston principals each held a meeting with parents where the incidents at their respective schools were reviewed, and parents were given an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. 

While at both Standley and Marston the threats were deemed to be not credible, San Diego Unified is committed to student, staff and community safety and we are proud of both the Standley and Marston students that each reported perceived threats to their school to their school administration. We continue to encourage all students, parents and guardians to follow the directive of “See Something, Say Something.”