DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The Tipp City Schools Superintendent is on his way out after a decision made by the Board of Education. An emergency meeting was held Wednesday after parents were notified of a threat nearly a month after it happened.
Tipp City mother Kimberly Schwartz said her daughter’s life was threatened by another student on December 7.
“I’m feeling overwhelmed, let down, aggravated,” Schwartz said.
According to the police report, a student reported hearing another student make a threat of a school shooting. The report also states Tippecanoe Middle school’s principal told police the student would “shoot up the school if he could,” and named Schwartz’s daughter as the first victim.
Although the threat was made on December 7, the police report was not filed until December 8.
“Almost a 24 hour period after the school shooting threat, and you’re telling me that Stefanik can keep my child safe, or any other child safe in this district? That’s not possible,” Schwartz said.
A letter was sent out to the entire school community on Wednesday from Superintendent Mark Stefanik.
The letter reads, in part:
“When the district first learned of a student’s threat against another student, the administrative team followed disciplinary procedures and levied consequences, which included removing the student from the campus. The district also filed a police report and notified the parents of the student who was threatened.”
At Wednesday meeting, Stefanik told media outlets that reporting to the police is up to the building administration the incident happened in, not the superintendent’s office.
Disappointed by the response from the district, around two dozen parents were present to speak out at the emergency meeting.
“There are two ways to respond,” Stefanik said. “We responded one way as far as our notifications go, and the general community, as represented tonight, expected more information to the whole community rather than to individual students.”
Stefanik said the student is serving consequences, which included removing the student from campus, however, the student is still enrolled in the district.
The school board decided Stefanik’s actions were not enough, the members voted unanimously to not renew his contract once it expires on July 31.
“The board members did not find out about this until Monday night, it happened December 7th, there is no reason to not inform your school board of an incident of this magnitude,” Tipp City School Board Member Theresa Dunaway said. “There is no explanation that could possibly be the right reason.”
2 NEWS asked Stefanik what is next for the district to improve the safety of its students and staff since this threat. He said they’re now looking into adding a school resource officer, assessing current safety plans, and increasing supervision at arrival and dismissal.
