Following the June 13 Fayetteville-Manlius School District Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Craig J. Tice sent the following update to F-M families about the alleged threat the district received regarding F-M High School. The original communication about the anonymous message is below the update.
Dear F-M families,
I am writing to you late tonight after the completion of the regularly-scheduled Board of Education meeting to provide you with an update on an earlier communication from the district regarding an alleged threat at F-M High School.
As you are aware, at approximately 1:15 p.m. today, an individual who had an alleged safety concern sent a message to the district’s Let’s Talk “Anonymous Tips” online communications portal. Because the anonymous author named F-M High School as the location of the incident, the message was automatically forwarded to school personnel who immediately notified the School Information Resource Officers assigned to the high school.
The anonymous tip sent to the district was without substantive detail as it did not identify a perpetrator by name nor did the “witness” identify themselves. What the message did relay was that “a student had a loaded gun and knife out during Wellness Break,” but it did not say when this supposedly occurred.
To that end, multiple K-9 units were dispatched to the Fayetteville-Manlius High School this evening to sweep the building for the alleged firearm and did not find anything.
Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an additional police presence at F-M High School Tuesday, June 14. School officials are strongly discouraging students from bringing backpacks to school tomorrow as it is the last day of classes at F-M High School. Any backpack that is brought to the high school may be subject to search by school personnel in accordance with Board of Education Policy #7330.
I know that many parents are anxious and concerned about these recent threats, as are our staff, administrators and board members. As always, we are taking any allegation of a potential threat seriously and working closely with our school information resource officers and the Town of Manlius Police Department to take the necessary precautions to ensure our school community is as safe as possible.
We are encouraging everyone if they see or hear something concerning, to say something, whether it is to a trusted adult or an administrator. Our Let’s Talk Anonymous Tips feature is always available as another option for sharing information.
I apologize for the late message, but I wanted you to be as informed as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
Craig J. Tice, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Below is the message Fayetteville-Manlius School District Superintendent Craig J. Tice sent earlier to F-M families via SchoolMessenger.
Dear F-M families,
I want to make you aware that at approximately 1:15 p.m. today, an individual who had an alleged safety concern sent a message to the district’s Let’s Talk “Anonymous Tips” online communications portal.
Because the anonymous author named F-M High School as the location of the incident, the message was automatically forwarded to school personnel who immediately notified the building’s School Information Resource Officers, who were supervising school dismissal.
While the message was extremely vague, we are taking it seriously. School officials have collaborated with the Town of Manlius Police Department and our school district instructional technology department to assist law enforcement as they investigate. The Manlius police department will lead any further investigation.
Because it is an active police investigation, I am unable to forward or share any specific details related to the message. However, at this time, we have no reason to believe that a viable and credible threat to student and staff safety exists.
Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an additional police presence at F-M High School. School officials are strongly discouraging the use of backpacks tomorrow as it is the last day of classes at F-M High School. Any backpack that is brought to the high school by a student may be subject to search by school personnel in accordance with Board of Education Policy #7330.
As always, we are encouraging everyone if they see or hear something concerning, to say something, whether it is to a trusted adult or an administrator. Our Let’s Talk Anonymous Tips feature is always available as another option for sharing information.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
Craig J. Tice, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools