Parents of children enrolled at Sacred Heart School are upset
over the principal’s reaction to death threats made by a student to
others.
On Sept. 15, a student threatened to kill another student with
details including daggers and a gun.
Parents of children enrolled at Sacred Heart School are upset over the principal’s reaction to death threats made by a student to others.
On Sept. 15, a student threatened to kill another student with details including daggers and a gun.
Later that week, Principal Kathy O’Donnell was informed of the threat, according to the victim’s mother, Shirley Bramer. The student was suspended for one day, she said.
But when Bramer found out about the threat, she wondered why the school did not call the police.
“I talked to the principal on (Sept.) 19th. She said it wasn’t too big of a concern or a grave threat,” Bramer said. “There was no police report. No faculty members were informed.”
At the urging of Bramer, O’Donnell called the police and filed a report Sept. 19, Bramer said. Bramer’s daughter gave a statement.
According to the report, no arrest was made and the case has not been sent to the District Attorney’s Office or the county probation department, according to Hollister Police Capt. Bob Brooks.
Bramer pulled her daughter out of the school and enrolled her in another area middle school.
“I don’t want to put her in a hostile environment,” Bramer said.
O’Donnell said: “I’m not at liberty to talk about thinks like that.”
Kevin Drabinski, director of communications for the Diocese of Monterey, would not comment on specifics of the incident.
“The Diocese of Monterey cannot disclose information on any incident, their nature or the identity of the children at any of our schools,” Drabinski said.
The Diocese of Monterey runs 13 Catholic schools in San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.
There is a procedure for officials to follow when a threat of this kind is made, he said.
“Whenever a threat is made at school, the principal investigates the claim, communicates to parents, students, teachers and others as appropriate to the situation. Our principals consistently follow these procedures,” Drabinski said.
But, parents, including Bramer, argue the procedure was not followed. Many parents and teachers were not informed about the threat, Bramer said. Some of these parents did not want to be quoted because their children still attend Sacred Heart School.
While Drabinski said he can’t comment on the specifics of whether or not parents and teachers were informed, he said “these procedures were followed.”
In Sacred Heart’s weekly bulletin for Oct. 2, O’Donnell addressed discipline issues, but not that there had been a death threat.
“The discipline system is not designed to ‘punish’ students but rather to determine reasonable ‘penalties’ for inappropriate actions which jeopardize oneself or others,” O’Donnell wrote in her “Principal’s News Bytes.” “As parents, you will be informed via telephone and/or a conduct or disciplinary ‘referral’ if your child has been involved in a significant disciplinary issue. Sometimes, smaller infractions are dealt with via a conversation, writing assignment or an apology, and you may not be involved. Whatever the process, know that we acknowledge and appreciate your support in helping our students develop moral behavior as well as learning the 3 R’s.”
On Sept. 22, the student who made the threat met with the students he threatened and apologized. Bramer and the student’s father were present, but no other parents, Bramer said.
“A simple apology doesn’t cut it. People should be informed about their kids’ safety,” she said. “It’s a cry for help. I feel (the student is) a time bomb waiting to go off.”
There are 489 students enrolled at the preschool through eighth grade private school.
