KCSD's safety protocols have been called into question after an incident at the middle school

The Kingston City School District informed its school community on Friday, September 27, of a threat against J. Watson Bailey Middle School that was ultimately deemed not to be credible. But at the start of a school year marked by gun violence in other states, and an altercation at Kingston High School in which a student was found to be in possession of an unloaded flare gun, some students and parents are questioning the district's safety protocols .

According to an administrative post on the Kingston City School District (KCSD) website, J. Watson Bailey administrators were notified of a possible threat brought to their attention by iWitnessNY, the district's anonymous tip reporting system.

“The student in question was quickly identified by the Bailey School Resource Officer (SRO) with assistance from the Kingston Police Department (KPD) and the threat was deemed unreliable,” the district-wide post said. “Disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the school's code of conduct… We are grateful that our SRO and building management, with the assistance of KPD, were able to quickly complete this investigation and determine the threat was not credible.”

The unreliable threat was revealed two days after an education committee meeting where parents and students raised concerns about school security, including the decision to spend money on implementing the Yondr system in secondary schools rather than installing metal detectors.

With the Yondr system, students lock their cell phones in a lockable bag upon entering their building and then unlock the bag at the end of the school day. There are centralized magnetic release bases at school entrances. Each of the three schools using the Yondr system also has designated areas in the administration and nurses' offices where they can unlock their phones if they need to contact parents or guardians. Students who use their phones for medical reasons have various pockets that allow them access when needed.

The KCSD also uses visitor software Raptor, which compares a visitor's ID against law enforcement records and other databases. Bag checks are carried out and metal detector wands are used on random days.

“Some days maybe kids show up and find out there’s a bag check, or some days people find wands,” KCSD Superintendent Paul Padalino said earlier this month. “And we use the wands at indoor sporting events, especially larger basketball games and things like that.”

At the Sept. 25 school board meeting, KHS student Matthew Lundy questioned the wisdom of the Yondr system.

“The first few weeks as a student at KHS this year were unlike anything I have experienced in my three years here,” Lundy said. “Instead of implementing effective security devices such as metal detectors to keep firearms out of our school, the district has chosen to spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund the introduction of Yondr bags in the district. As a result, a firearm was discovered in a district building on the second day of school. Who can say that due to this misappropriation of funds, there will not be more incidents like this if the funds are not used effectively?”

Lundy added that the addition of random bag searches will exacerbate the already unbearable shortage at school entrances. He also questioned why classrooms couldn't simply have their own cell phone drop-off areas and said the phone ban should also apply to staff.

Diana Martinez is a KCSD mother who said the tensions in schools and her inability to connect with her children because of the Yondr bags are untenable.

“I am very concerned about the safety of my children, especially at the high school and Bailey Middle School,” she said. “To be honest, I'm thinking about homeschooling my children because I don't want them to go to these schools anymore… I think we need to do better for our children.”

Last week, KCSD parents and students alike spoke with them Hudson Valley One about their safety concerns.

Elizabeth Porter's daughter said she feels relatively safe as a KHS freshman, but added, “Yes, sometimes it can be questionable, especially when other kids bring weapons that aren't allowed in school.” But overall, I feel “I’m safe there.”

Still, she called the Yondr bags “a bunch of crap,” introduced in part to protect the district from lawsuits if a student uploads footage of a fight captured on a smartphone. She added that the Yondr bags are not as safe as the district believes.

“Children will be children,” she said. “I already know several people who have figured out how to open them without a magnet, and some kids just put a fake phone in their pocket.”

She said her sense of safety in schools would likely be shaken by news of violence elsewhere in the country.

“I would definitely feel unsafe at KHS if there was a school shooting somewhere else, especially with these Yondr bags and the fact that KHS takes forever to communicate with our parents,” she said. “You can't trust them to say anything quickly because they usually don't say what's going on until the end of the day. Hours after the situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a day or two for them to actually address the situation.”

Robyn Playford is the mother of three KCSD students – a KHS graduate, an eighth grader and a fourth grader. Although Padalino confirmed last week that it was a student found with a flare gun, some parents believe it was an intruder using an old ID. Playford said if a flare gun could make it into a school, so could a more dangerous firearm.

“If this had been a handgun instead of a flare gun, there could easily have been a mass casualty and the parents would have buried their children,” Playford said. “I think the (school) authority needs to reconsider installing metal detectors in the high school and both middle schools. I also think additional security staff should be hired, all full time. Middle schools only have “greeterers” at the doors. I think elementary schools should have SROs too. This will provide an additional level of security and also allow younger students to build positive relationships with officers and help combat police – bad beliefs they may hear.”

Padalino could not be reached for comment after the unreliable threat was reported by J. Watson Bailey.