ICPD investigating social media threat against West High

About one third of students called in absent at West High on Monday as Iowa City police and school officials investigated a possible threat made against the school on social media.

Principal Gregg Shoultz said the school, with a student body of about 2,000, saw about 600 more absences Monday than it did Friday, but that some students were coming to school late after calling in absent.

He said school officials would provide more information about the incident to parents later on Monday. Officials have said a student allegedly made a threat against West in which a gun was visible on Snapchat, an app that allows people to send pictures that disappear after a few seconds.

"This evening I have received several communications about a rumor of a threat to West High that may have been posted on a social media site called Snapchat," Shoultz wrote in an email to parents Sunday. "Please know we take all issues related to student safety very seriously. We have met with the student who allegedly made the threat and his parents."

Shoultz said Monday morning that the student who allegedly made the threat denied making it, and that both the student and their parents were cooperating with the school.

"They voluntarily kept the student home today to help calm the situation," Shoultz said.

He said school officials began investigating the incident and related conflicts between students on Thursday, and that officials had an off-site conversation Friday with the student who allegedly made the threat.

Shoultz said school officials began communicating with the police about the incident Friday, and that they did not notify police on Thursday because rumors about the threat were unsubstantiated.

“We don’t pass on unsubstantiated rumors," he said.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Scott Gaarde said police began investigating the allegations on Friday night when they were approached at the football game by students and parents who told them about a possible threat.

"We notified the school district and were then informed that they were aware of it already," Gaarde said.

Gaarde said any threat of this nature is given instant priority by police, and that if anyone has information about a threat they should come forward.

"If there are threats that are being made we'd like to be notified right away so we can begin to put the necessary safety measures in place," he said.

Shoultz said West officials are continuing to cooperate with the ICPD as officers investigate the situation.

"They're collaborating with us to determine if they can get any more information about an actual threat," Shoultz said, adding that so far nothing has materialized.

Gaarde confirmed that Iowa City had a police presence at West Monday morning, but would not give specifics. Shoultz said there was one uniformed officer and one plainclothes officer at the school.

The Iowa City Community School Board added a discussion item Monday about communication protocol between schools and law enforcement and between schools and the community to its Tuesday meeting agenda.

Board President Chris Lynch said the board will discuss how officials handled the incident at West and may consider increasing the specificity of policies and procedures related to such incidents.

He said he hopes to discuss ways of clarifying and standardizing the communication process when incidents occur, and said parents have been reaching out to the board with questions and concerns.

“That’s why we want to put this on the agenda tomorrow, so we can deal with it immediately," he said.

In addition to the email sent to parents Sunday night, Shoultz said he left a voicemail message on parents' phones and addressed the student body via intercom Monday morning. In his intercom message, Shoultz said that students who have actual information should inform the authorities, but warned against spreading rumors that may not be true.

Shoultz said West's normal schedule of classes would not be affected by the threat.

"I am planning to send my daughter to West High as I normally would," Shoultz wrote in his email.

Reach Holly Hines at hhines2@press- citizen.com or at 319-887-5414 and follow her on Twitter at @HollyJHines.