45.5% of JCPS students in classes after threat

Fewer than half of Jefferson County Public Schools students went to class Friday after an anonymous threat Wednesday prompted school officials to increase security across the district.

The district reported Friday's attendance was at 45.5 percent, slightly down from a morning preliminary figure of 46.4 percent.

Attendance was highest at 74 percent at Atherton High School, while Slaughter Elementary posted a low of 25 percent.

JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens reinforced that "safety is always number one" but stressed that learning and attendance go together.

"I wish I could quantify the loss of learning," she said during a news briefing Friday morning.

"... We have a limited number of days to impact our students. So whenever we don't have high attendance, that concerns me," she said.

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Still, the superintendent said she understands parents' concerns for their children's safety and emphasized that the district is making safety a priority.

"We told parents we have the safety protocols in place to send your students to school," she said, "but of course, the parent is going to make the ultimate decision every day."

School principals will review the thousands of Friday absences individually to determine if they are excused. She did not have faculty and staff absence numbers for the day, but noted substitutes made up 8 percent of teaching staff Friday, down from 10 percent on the average Friday.

"I have a lot of confidence in our principals – I was a principal – that they follow that process and are fair in that process," Hargens said.

She added she expects security precautions to return to normal Monday morning.

Fears over the anonymous threat severely dampened attendance numbers Friday. Average attendance last month was about 93 percent, Hargens said.

"We certainly hope that the person who made the threat is found," Hargens said in the news briefing.

No schools, to her knowledge, were searched Friday. District spokeswoman Bonnie Hackbarth added that beside school resource officers and the district's security staff inside of schools, there was no additional law enforcement presence in school buildings Friday.

On Thursday, Louisville Metro Police said it received a "vague, anonymous" tip Wednesday afternoon that indicated threats against unspecified educational institutions on Friday.

The department said though it was unclear from the threat even "whether these are institutions located in Louisville," police opted to notify schools and colleges in the area.

Earlier Friday, police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said the department's Ninth Mobile Division was providing extra patrols around both public and private schools across the county, though she declined to say if specific schools were selected for monitoring. It's unknown if the other eight division police majors decided to provide additional patrols to schools within their coverage area, Smiley said.

JCPS: 'We're showing extreme precaution'

JCPS Chief Operations Officer Michael Raisor said Thursday that after being told about the threat, the state's largest school district mulled its options. He said that "everything was on the table," including closing all of the district's 155 schools. But after consultation with police and others, JCPS decided Thursday morning to increase the security level at all its schools for Friday. It notified parents and the media Thursday afternoon through texts, letters sent home and other communication.

JCPS operated Friday on a security Level 3, which is one step above normal operations. At that security level, exterior access is controlled, with doors staying locked and staff manning the doors. Students' movement is restricted with hallway access minimized and monitored. Outside activities, such as PE classes or recess, are moved indoors.

They will return to Level 2 Monday, which includes standard procedures such as locked doors.

However, Raisor said that after-school activities will continue as scheduled, saying extracurriculars were not specifically mentioned in the threat.

Raisor said he recalls schools having heightened security awareness before but could not recall a prior incident when the security level of all schools in the district was raised.

JCPS has had a number of school threats this school year that have caused increased security at certain schools. In some cases, those making the threats have been caught. In October, a 15-year-old Western High student was arrested for allegedly calling in two false threats to JCPS schools. In November, JCPS said it had identified the source of a "prank" threat against Ballard High.

JPS said it was working with state, local and federal officials to investigate the threat. LMPD also said it shared information with federal partners.

Special Agent David Habich, a spokesman for the FBI, confirmed Thursday that LMPD informed the FBI about the situation, saying the FBI will work with "all of our local partners as necessary to determine the best course of action."

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Other schools throughout the Louisville area made their own determinations about how to handle the reported threat.

Christian Academy's four campuses also increased security measures, suspending all outdoor activities and adding additional police security during school hours. However, afternoon and evening activities were scheduled to proceed as usual on Friday, said Bill Jerome, Christian Academy's director of marketing.

In a message to principals, Archdiocese of Louisville Superintendent of Schools Leisa Schulz said Catholic schools will operate as usual Friday, although she asked staff to proceed with "heightened awareness and vigilance."

Louisville's school communities are not alone in having to make tough choices following the report of a threat. Last month, an email threat to the Los Angeles Board of Education prompted the closure of all 900 schools in the nation's second-largest school district; the Los Angeles Times later reported that the threat was discredited.

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Reporter Allison Ross contributed to this report. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at (502) 582-4989. Reporter Kirsten Clark can be reached at (502) 582-4144.  Follow The Courier-Journal's Education Team on Facebook at Facebook.com/SchooledCJ.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS