A few parents were on hand at the Vandalia School Board meeting last night, to pass along their concerns to the board over the possible threat the school dealt with this past week. The parents addressing the board Tuesday night stated they were concerned that parents were not notified for 2 days and many had to find out about the incident thru social media. Vandalia School Board President Chris Palmer addressed the concerns, saying they take such matters very seriously and took every precaution and they stay in touch with law enforcement on a regular basis. Palmer also pointed out they have a Student Safety Committee, which is made up of board members, school administration, along with Fayette County State’s Attorney Joshua Morrison, Sheriff Chris Smith and Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray. One parent brought up an alleged incident that occurred on the night of Homecoming. Palmer said that if there had been a real, or true, threat that night there would have been no dance. Palmer also pointed out they conduct active shooter drills in all their buildings on a regular basis, many times involving the students.
A week ago, the Vandalia Police Department was made aware of the threat of a student allegedly made comments about doing a school shooting. Following an investigation into the matter, the student was arrested on a pending charge of Disorderly Conduct and the student remains held at this time at the Madison County Juvenile Detention Facility.