FREMONT, Neb (KMTV) — The usually quiet Fremont Public School Board meeting Monday began with calls for help.
“He is terrified, he does not want to go back to the middle school unless there are changes made so that they couldn’t bring knives into the middle school,” said one parent.
Frustrated parents sharing the fear they and their kids experienced after learning of threats of school shootings and violence targeted at Fremont Middle School last week.
“What happened the other day was the tip of the iceberg for me. My son texted me from school asking me to come home because he felt unsafe. No child should feel unsafe at school and now im a concerned for how things are spiraling,” said one parent.
School administrators began the meeting by assuring parents that they were reviewing their own safety protocols, including when students are let into school and where they are allowed to wait.
But most of the parents who spoke said that wasn’t enough.
“We are a class A school but we don’t have metal detectors? We have Fremont Middle School but we have a resource officer who just pops by?,” said another parent.
It wasn’t just last week’s threats that were frustrating parents, many shared issues of drug abuse and bullying.
On top of parents concerned about what was happening in Fremont Public Schools, several current and former substitute teachers also spoke about the challenges they face with misbehaving students.
“When I was a senior in high school I called a teacher an A-hole. I got 3 days suspension. When I worked at the high school it was nothing for kids to tell me to F off, send them to the office and guess what? They come right back,” said Steven Hansen, a former FPS substitute teacher.
Emotions were high throughout the meeting, with some parents telling administrators they have already pulled their students from school and don’t plan for them to return.
They plead for changes to come quickly so they and their students can turn their focus back to learning.
“I do everything I can to make sure my kids know that they are loved, and that I hear them and see them. I will take care of them because my job is to make sure they are safe. Right now I don’t know if they are safe and im sorry but that is complete b*******,” said another parent.
