MONROE - The Monroe school district has taken another look at how it handles communication with parents in the wake of three school evacuations within a week.
Threats found on bathroom walls led to evacuations at the Monroe High School March 26 and Monday. A threat found in the bathroom at the middle school forced students to evacuate the building Tuesday.
Parents expressed concerns about the lack of communication between themselves and the school district while students were evacuated, particularly that they weren't notified quickly enough about the evacuations.
Monroe Superintendent Larry Brown said the district is looking at how to correct the problem.
Brown talked to parents for several hours Tuesday, he said, and listened to their concerns about the lack of communication.
Brown said he's the person responsible for notifying parents in the event of an emergency. After threats were made, Brown was busy helping students evacuate from school and working with school administrators and law enforcement, he said.
To remedy the problem, the district has discussed putting another person in charge to contact parents in the event of an emergency. Brown said two possible solutions include the Green County Sheriff's Department's Reverse 9-1-1 system, or the district could purchase a system of its own.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said he understands parents want to know about a crisis at the school and said they should be informed. However, he doesn't recommend parents come to the school to pick up their children while the school is being evacuated.
"That taxes the resources of the people at the scene to deal with the situation," he said.
Disaster training always includes exercises for how to keep the general public and family members away from a dangerous situation.
When the middle school was evacuated Tuesday, students were let out of the south door at the school and buses picked them up on the west side of the building. Parents wouldn't have been able to park on 15th Avenue without being in the buses' way.
Kelley said the recent threats will help the school district and the police with training and with emergency plans.
"You can have all of this written down, but until it happens, you can't be certain everything will go according to plan," he said.
Threats found on bathroom walls led to evacuations at the Monroe High School March 26 and Monday. A threat found in the bathroom at the middle school forced students to evacuate the building Tuesday.
Parents expressed concerns about the lack of communication between themselves and the school district while students were evacuated, particularly that they weren't notified quickly enough about the evacuations.
Monroe Superintendent Larry Brown said the district is looking at how to correct the problem.
Brown talked to parents for several hours Tuesday, he said, and listened to their concerns about the lack of communication.
Brown said he's the person responsible for notifying parents in the event of an emergency. After threats were made, Brown was busy helping students evacuate from school and working with school administrators and law enforcement, he said.
To remedy the problem, the district has discussed putting another person in charge to contact parents in the event of an emergency. Brown said two possible solutions include the Green County Sheriff's Department's Reverse 9-1-1 system, or the district could purchase a system of its own.
Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said he understands parents want to know about a crisis at the school and said they should be informed. However, he doesn't recommend parents come to the school to pick up their children while the school is being evacuated.
"That taxes the resources of the people at the scene to deal with the situation," he said.
Disaster training always includes exercises for how to keep the general public and family members away from a dangerous situation.
When the middle school was evacuated Tuesday, students were let out of the south door at the school and buses picked them up on the west side of the building. Parents wouldn't have been able to park on 15th Avenue without being in the buses' way.
Kelley said the recent threats will help the school district and the police with training and with emergency plans.
"You can have all of this written down, but until it happens, you can't be certain everything will go according to plan," he said.