Amidst continuing state school threats, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has been honing their new response system. Pegge Erkeneff with the District said K-Beach Elementary was placed into an official lockdown yesterday for 20 minutes after they received a threatening phone call. All other area schools were in stay put mode for an hour…
Erkeneff: “We do have full lock down response, where we’re locking doors, we’re barricading classrooms, and that is the full emergency response lockdown. Then we have what we’re calling stay put, that’s what we used to call a modified lockdown, but the word ‘lockdown’ makes people scared. A stay put means that all the doors are locked, any students that are on the grounds have come into the building, classroom instruction is going on, but we’re not opening the doors for parents to take kids and come and go. It’s staying in place, stay put.”
The third step down is a “heightened awareness” mode where students are watched more closely but there’s no significant change to activities. Erkeneff said the district also modifies the response depending on the age of the students…
Erkeneff: “For our high school students and our older students, they might have learned how to ‘counter,’ so if someone makes into a classroom and has a really bad intent, they’re not going to be sitting quietly. They’re going to be picking up a fire extinguisher, books, cans, and responding in the classroom in a different way than our little kids would.”
Little more is known about the ongoing computerized threats. Erkeneff said law enforcement is still asking for any public tips or information as they investigate the phone calls.