LEETONIA, Ohio (WKBN)- An unfounded social media concern has closed a local school on its last day of class.
Leetonia Schools Superintendent Dennis Dunham told WKBN Friday morning before 8 a.m. that class would be canceled for all students due to concern.
Officials with the district have not released exactly what they saw that caused them to cancel school. But they did tell me this summer they plan to take a fresh look at school security this summer.
Flags fly at half staff outside Leetonia Exempted Village School District, a grim reminder of the 21 lives lost in a school shooting in Texas this week.
“That’s a good way to phrase it: a more heightened concern. We always are,” said Dunham.
Districts have been on higher alert, fearing possible copycats of the gunman.
“It was a concerning statement was made available from a student that we weren’t sure how to take,” continued Dunham.
Every three years, the law requires Ohio schools to submit School Safety Plans to the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio School Safety Center. Those plans are reviewed by first responders like fire and police.
“Every district and Leetonia is no different. We have safety committees, plans are in place that we follow our protocols to a T,” said Dunham.
Yearly, schools must review and certify those plans by July first, meaning many districts will be meeting in the coming few weeks to update their plans.
“Anytime there is an incident we kind of re-evaluate and come back together and just go through what happened and what can we do better,” finished Dunham.
Ohio House Bill 123 will require schools must have a threat assessment team in place by 2023.