From the Superintendent's Desk

February 8, 2023

Students at one of our schools received text/social media messages this morning indicating a possible shooting incident at Montpelier High School. I verified with Montpelier police that they were treating this as a credible report, and out of an abundance of caution I directed all of our schools to implement their "Shelter in Place" emergency protocol. Under this protocol, all staff and students were directed to remain inside the building(s), all security doors were checked, and we increased security camera monitoring of all entryways into our buildings

The Montpelier/Roxbury SD released a message at 9:48 indicating that they believe this is a hoax, and that there are other schools in Vermont dealing with the same situation today. Many of you will know from recent press reports that there has been a rash of these fake reports in Vermont and New Hampshire, but until we know for sure we are taking precautions. I want to emphasize that none of our schools have received such a report.

I received the following from Secretary French at 10:26 am:

"This morning, we were made aware that multiple law enforcement agencies across the state are receiving calls reporting shooting events at local schools. At this time these incidents appear to be hoax phone calls originating from Onvoy, LLC VOIP phone numbers (406 area code) or potentially spoofed local 802 numbers. These calls appear to be associated with ongoing nationwide hoax phone threats of school shootings, bomb threats, etc.

At this time the Vermont Intelligence Center is not aware of any credible threats related to these phone calls. If you experience a similar situation, please inform your local/county/state law enforcement agency immediately for their action and support. We know these types of calls can be concerning for your faculty, staff and parent community. As with all incidents like this, schools should follow their local crisis response plans and practices and work to quickly determine the credibility of each threat. As mentioned above, these appear to be HOAX calls, designed to provoke anxiety and fear in or schools and communities."

I have already instructed the schools that they can lift their Shelter in Place. If we do receive a direct threat against any of our schools, we will respond accordingly.

Thank you,

Mark Tucker, M.A.

Superintendent