Task Force To Address School Safety

A conversation on how best to protect students and teachers is underway in Trigg County Public Schools following a rash of threats over the last two weeks. Parents and local law enforcement will likely be at the center of that discussion if their presence at Thursday’s meeting is any indication.

About a dozen parents and members of both the Cadiz Police Department and the Trigg County Sheriff’s Office were in attendance in support of the school’s response to those threats. Superintendent Travis Hamby announced a Task Force is being put together to consider options and decide on how best to proceed.

Hamby says he expects the Task Force to weigh options backed by research, ones that keep in mind an important fact.

He adds that regardless of what is decided, the decision needs to contribute to a culture of support and respect for children and teachers.

School officials became aware of the first of a series of threats against students and staff the night of Jan. 25. That threat, which came just two days after a fatal shooting at Marshall County High School, was promptly investigated with Kentucky State Police finding no credibility.

Since that time a total of six threats have been investigated with the latest occurring Monday. Some of those investigations have led to the issuance of citations and the arrests of four students, while others yielded no credible evidence. Hamby says none of those threats were deemed viable, meaning no evidence was uncovered indicating they were going to be carried out.

Hamby adds that while he wishes he could share additional details of those investigations or the way events played out, as a school superintendent he is barred from doing so by federal privacy law. However, he adds every threat is being investigated and that administrators have taken disciplinary action.

It was also announced Micah Kaminski, of the Cadiz Police Department, has been chosen as the district’s new School Resource Officer. Kaminski was sworn into the department last summer and replaces Officer Dave Colbert, who was injured last April while directing traffic at the school.