In January, the Tipp City School Board of Education in Dayton, Ohio voted not to renew the contract of the district’s superintendent, “in part” due to his failure to notify parents or the board of education about a potential threat to the district’s middle school in December.  In Hartford there have been at least nine such unreported incidents.

Fresh off the heels of Hartford Schools’ Superintendent telling a Hartford teacher at a NRZ meeting, “I don’t see that,” concerning the rise in bad student behavior throughout the district, we now learn from a teacher at Sports and Medical Sciences Academy (SMSA) in Hartford that the Superintendent failed to notify the school community about several bomb threats made to SMSA.

At the Hartford Board of Education’s Regular Meeting on March 21, Lorri Weimer, a teacher at SMSA with 19-years’ experience, lambasted district leadership for their lack of communication about potential threats made to SMSA.  Ms. Weimer said that since December, there had been 9 separate bomb threats made to the school.  “Each time,” she stated, teachers heard nothing from district leadership and there was only “limited” communication from school leadership.

If pressed on this matter, the Superintendent would surely say that the district’s communication tool, ParentSquare, a mobile notification platform, was utilized when these threats occurred.  Ms. Weimer however states that these notifications were made after the all-clear had been given and long after the threats were made.

These threats were not made on the same day, they were made over a span of months.  Each time, the district’s response was the same, “non-existent,” says Ms. Weimer.

Ms. Weimer stated that due to the threats, the “emotional toll was high” and “intervention systems stopped working.”  Staff was not contacted to gauge if emotional support was needed, or even to offer emotional support.  “District administrators,” she stated, are “out of touch” and “hasn’t supported us in anyway, shape, or form.”

After a SMSA student confessed to making 6 of the threats, Ms. Weimer stated that he was back in the school after only a 10-day suspension and that the staff was not informed by the district or the school that the student was returning. 

A joint report by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education on how schools can best manage threatening situations states that “get tough” responses, or “set an example” responses, or “responses with the greatest punitive powers,” may be the most familiar, but they are not the best response for the long term as they may  incite further, harsher incidents.  However, Ms. Weimer stated that the 10-day suspension given to the little shit who made the threatening calls only “emboldens” students, creating an unsafe environment for other students and teachers.

It was also learned that the Board of Education was not informed by district leadership about any of these threats.  Neither did any Board member offer a comment or a plan to address the egregious lack of district communication.

Similarly, the community at large was kept in the dark about threats made to their schools.  A search of Hartford Courant archives going back to the start of this school year, found no story concerning threats made against Hartford schools.  On September 21, 2022, the Courant reported on 5 separate incidents involving threats made to other Connecticut schools.  On September 26th the Courant reported on 4 more incidents, and stated that there had been 11 such threats in the past week.  No other local media sources were located which reported on incidents involving threats to Hartford schools.

The Superintendent’s in-house marketing genius, Jesse Sugarman, will run to the press to offer insight into failed handling of district finances by the administration, or to add false shine to failed district policies, but to these threats, and probably to other skeletons in the closet, the Superintendent keeps this lapdog on a leash.

Even following Ms. Weimer’s comments to the Board and Superintendent at the meeting, the Superintendent posted no follow up information on the HPS website or in her March 24th, “Superintendent’s Update,” concerning the series of threats against a Hartford School.

In Dayton, Ohio, where the superintendent was told that it’s time to go after his lack of communication, the Dayton Daily News conducted a survey about how districts handle information regarding potential threats.  In most districts, the administration and police will determine how serious the threat is before alerting parents, “but most districts said they generally will alert parents as soon as possible, even if the threat is not deemed credible.”  Much can happen in the time it takes to determine credibility.

On the HPS “Ensuring Safety and Security” web page, there is a “Say Something Anonymous Reporting System,” which offers “students multiple ways to report any serious concerns about personal crises or school threats.”  It also states that School Safety Officers (SSOs) serve as a “reassuring presence…trusted adults for our young people to share concerns.” 

Yet the one person entrusted with ensuring that safety is the “number one priority” of the district, says nothing despite the “multiple ways” and multiple folks she has at her disposal to report to parents, teachers and the community about possible threats.  How reassuring are her actions?  How must trust do her actions build?  “Do as I say, not as I do,” is neither reassuring nor credible.

When a leader loses trust, credibility, and respect…it’s time to go.