A Kentucky teen who was charged with creating a list of classmates that he wanted to kill is being allowed to return to school, upsetting local parents.
Several parents spoke at the Boone county board of education meeting last week about the 14-year-old student being reinstated after making the “kill list” containing names of his classmates, NBC News reported.
“Whatever help he has gotten, he is still a threat,” Deanne Corbin, a parent, said to school officials, according to local NBC affiliate WLWT.
“It is unfair to the children – the victims as I call them – that were on this list for him to be in that school whether or not he’s in their classroom, they have to know he’s in their building. They know he walks down the hallway and they have to pass him,” Corbin said.
Many parents spoke out about their fear of a school shooting taking place and how school officials should not ignore “red flags”.
“If ever there was a time to look at red flags, that would be now,” Crystal Wainscott said, the Northern Kentucky Tribune reported. “If ever there was a time to pay attention to those red flags, that time is now.”
A man whose child was named on the list, Rob Bidleman, also spoke at the meeting: “When I received a call from the principal, it was emotionally devastating. All I could think about was my child in danger when they did nothing wrong.”
The 14-year-old student was expelled for a year from Conner middle school after the online threats, the Northern Kentucky Tribune reported. His name has not been publicly released because he is a minor.
The student was charged with two counts of second-degree terroristic threats and has since been allowed to enroll in Conner high school, NBC reported.
The son of Conner’s principal, Andy Wyckoff, was also named on the list, and Wyckoff said the child will remain enrolled in the school.
“I am aware that some parents have moved their children to other schools, but I will not move my son,” Wyckoff said.
After the meeting, held on Thursday, school officials wrote a letter to parents about their concerns.
The Boone county school district superintendent, Matthew Turner, wrote that the student will still be allowed to return to Conner because of state law that guarantees children an education.
“The Kentucky constitution guarantees the right to a public education for every child without prejudice, and we are [obliged] to follow state law,” Turner wrote while encouraging upset parents to contact their local representatives urging them to change the law.
Turner also wrote that “appropriate safety measures have been taken and are in place” and that Conner “remains a safe school”.
