A Parent's Perspective on May 3

By Mackenna and Caroline H

The recent news about a possible threat to the students and faculty at Park City High School has brought up many concerns from the parents. In early October, a student made a threat to the school, specifying the date of May 3. The Park City High School superintendent refrained from telling the community about this issue until late the preceding night. Multiple announcements on social media had spread the word about this potential day. The superintendent kept assuring parents that this kid would be under surveillance at home during May 3 and all the students were safe to go to school. This was not very promising to parents, mostly because of the fact that they lost all their trust with the Park City School District. Parents are angry, concerned, and just downright frustrated with the school.

After hearing the news, parents went into a sort of a panic, wondering what precautions would be taken and whether the student who threatened the school was under control. Parents and students were extremely concerned with many questions, like why they weren’t notified sooner about the situation. Obviously, people were either too concerned to send their kids to school or they just wanted to make a statement. The issue eventually turned into a little bit of a protest. Parents were so angry at the district and that’s why the hallways were so empty.

There may not be a restful night for a while for some of the parents, students, or teachers. Parents have lost almost all of their trust with the school district, and considering they send their kids to the school for multiple hours per day, multiple days per week, trust is important. A board member, Julie Eihausen made the comment, “Kids are STUPID.” How are parents expected to trust the school when a board member tells the kids that they are stupid? Superintendent Ember Conley chose not to tell the community about the threat until late the night before, which was very irresponsible on the school’s part. May 3 was the specific date given, but this threat could take place any day and the schools wouldn’t be prepared. Now, students and parents will continue to live their lives knowing that there is a threat amongst our community. The student is continuing to attend school, putting kids in danger day by day. Kids will not be safe until they know that this threat is controlled.

The lack of communication between faculty and community about the situation was a big issue. In the end it could even result in a faculty member losing their position. The fact that parents were so angry and were lowering the school’s rating gives the Park City School District a reason to fix their mistakes. These mistakes have been made more than once, such as the inappropriate relationship between a student and a teacher that was discussed earlier this year.

As of now, parents need to feel comfortable that their children are in a safe environment and security should become more proactive in the Park City schools.