Cumberland County Director of Schools reminding parents and guardians through email this week about the consequences of making threats towards school property.
Director of Schools Rebecca Farley said no threats have recently been made towards the school system. But she just wanted to send a friendly reminder. Farley asked parents to help.
“They can sit down and have a conversation with their children and let them know that if they make a threat that they can be charged criminally and be taken to jail,” Farley said.
Farley said the new state law requires that when school systems have received a threat and charges are made that the school system must notify the community within 48 hours. Farley said communication with the community about school threats is critical.
“I think when you have a position like what I have, that the best thing you can do is be transparent,” Farley said. “And I try to be transparent in all of my dealings, especially with my families and communities, and I think it is very, very important to communicate.”
Farley said once threats are made against the school system, the Threat Assessment Task Force investigates the threat. The Task Force is made up of Cumberland County Schools, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Crossville Police Department, 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Farley said the task force takes all threats seriously.
“In the day in time that we live in, everything like that has to be taken serious and that’s what we do,” Farley said. “When someone is saying that, we take that serious even if they are joking or not, we take it serious and we will investigate each one. A joke could lead them to a felony.”
Farley said faculty and student safety are top priorities at Cumberland County Schools.