Vancouver school safety protocol concerns arise amid threats

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — This week, there were multiple lockdowns at Vancouver schools because of threats, according to police and district officials. False rumors put Fort Vancouver into lockdown Wednesday, and two safety incidents put Mountain View High School on high alert Monday.

According to the Evergreen Public Schools interim superintendent: one Mountain View incident involved a student in a mental health crisis. Another threat at that same school came from Snapchat, warning of armed individuals coming to campus.

Mountain View High School handled these same-day issues completely differently. These inconsistencies have prompted questions from parents about school safety protocols and decision-making at Evergreen Public School District.

On Monday morning, Mountain View High School went into lockdown for 10 minutes due to a student in mental health crisis on the baseball field, according to district officials.

While emails to parents went out immediately for the first situation, the school didn’t immediately notify parents when they learned about a Snapchat threat just before 12 PM, despite its legitimacy. Nor did the school go into lockdown or any kind of protective status.

However, Vancouver police said they responded within minutes and later arrested two armed 18-year-olds on school grounds. District officials confirmed one was a former Mountain View High School student, and the other was a former student in the school district.

But teachers and parents weren’t notified about the situation until hours later.

One Mountain View High School parent shared an email she received at 4:30 PM from the principal, claiming the incident with armed suspects happened “around dismissal,” which alludes to 3:15 PM.

However, Clark County jail records reveal the arrest happened at 2:26 PM.

Despite these circumstances, Rob Perkins, President of the EPS Board of Directors commended Mountain View staff and law enforcement in a statement.

“Their strong relationships with students and the community were crucial in ensuring everyone’s safety,” he said. “We’re thankful no one was harmed and grateful to the Vancouver Police Department for their swift action. Our Board is committed to continually updating policies to address evolving safety challenges, including those posed by technology and social media.”

Vice President of the school board Jackie Weatherspoon, who is also a Mountain View parent, also echoed Perkins’ sentiment.

“I recognize how stressful and frightening these situations are for everyone involved, students, staff and families alike,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that such events are becoming more common, and I’m grateful for our building and district staff’s ongoing efforts to ensure our children’s safety.”

In a school board meeting this week, the EPS interim Superintendent Dr. Christine Moloney said while they did many things right, hindsight reveals areas for improvement.

“When you reflect and debrief you say, ‘Oh, maybe we should have done this,” she acknowledged. “So we’re going to be looking at making sure we are very clear with what we’re doing moving forward if unfortunately we have to deal with any incident like this again.”

She also admitted that although Vancouver Police didn’t advise the school to go into any protective status for the Snapchat threat, that they could have and should have.

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