Howard County police said they took a 15-year-old Atholton High School student into custody late last month after the student posted a threat on social media about bringing a weapon to school. The student was found with a knife at school and taken into custody on Sept. 24. But communication about the incident has concerned staff, according to the union that represents public school teachers.

“Staff are upset. And staff are scared,” said Benjamin Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association, the union that represents more than 6,000 certificated employees and support personnel employed by the Howard County Public School System.

According to police, school administrators alerted Howard County police to a threat from a student posted on social media on the morning of Sept. 24. Atholton High officials and the School Resource Officer “immediately located” the student and he was taken into custody, police said.

A police investigation found that the student posted a video with a firearm on social media that had been recorded off campus. The 15-year-old was charged with possessing a deadly weapon (a knife) on school property and disturbing activities at school. Police said the firearm in the video was also recovered.

“Howard County has not been immune to the increasing trend of school threats. While most turn out to be hoaxes, they still involve significant police resources and investigation,” a statement from the Howard County Police Department said. “We encourage parents to talk with their children about the realities of disciplinary actions and legal consequences for posting or sharing threatening messages.”

Schmitt said most staff did not know about the social media threat and there was a lack of communication with staff before the student’s arrest.

“Having been a teacher in the classroom, there should be some sort of communication prior to,” Schmitt said. “My larger concern here is the lack of either a modified lockdown or lockdown, especially when it was realized that the student was on campus.”

After the student was located, the principal sent a message to the school community explaining that school administrators became aware of a social media post of a teen “holding a gun and making a perceived threat to our school” and confirmed that he was an HCPSS student. The message added that there was “currently no credible threat to the school” and appropriate consequences would be delivered.

Brian Bassett, director of communications and engagement for the school system, said this week that a message about the threat was sent to school staff first, then to the rest of the community. Atholton High’s principal also held an in-person meeting with staff at the end of the school day, Bassett said.

Several variables influence when and how schools decide to communicate with the public about a threat, Bassett said, and any communication aims to include as much detail as possible without interfering with personal rights or a police investigation, especially when pertaining to minors.

Regarding the Sept. 24 incident at Atholton, Bassett said that it was most important to the school system to communicate that the threat was not credible.

Schmitt said a letter or email sent to parents and the school community is not enough. He advocates for a review of how administrators are trained to respond to incidents such as these and more accountability for administrators when policies aren’t followed. Schmitt also said better response times and improved communication are needed.

“As an educator, I’m upset; as a parent, I am worried for my own children; and as a taxpayer, I’m wondering, what are we going to do to try and fix the system, or, change the policy or the training so that there is better communication and warning to staff of something happening,” Schmitt said.

In response to the threat, HCPSS posted a message asking students to report any threatening posts on the social media platform and to a school administrator, and asking the community to avoid sharing the post. The message emphasized that the school system takes threats seriously and that disciplinary action will be taken while also providing links to counseling resources.

“HCPSS is seeing some copycat behaviors from our students,” the message read. “Parents and guardians are encouraged to model healthy and appropriate use of social media, and closely monitor your child’s social media accounts.”

Social media is the driver of many dangerous behaviors, Schmitt said, as students face increased mental health issues, too much access to social media and a lack of accountability around cellphone policies. While he was grateful for law enforcement’s quick response, he said the incident shouldn’t have gone this far. HCEA has met with school system leadership, Schmitt said, and is hoping for changes in communication and accountability for following policies around lockdowns.

“This is not education of 30, 40 years ago, Schmitt said. “This stuff is happening on the regular, and we need to take this seriously.”

Vice chair of the Howard County Board of Education Jennifer Mallo said to mitigate future threats, the school system must address underlying issues such as student mental health, trauma, culture or social media trends and educate students on social emotional learning and acceptable behaviors.

Mallo said there is a larger ongoing conversation about needed improvements to communication and safety measures, some of which would require increased funding. She said the school board is working within current budgetary constraints to protect schools and move as quickly as possible.

“Your children are our priority. Their education is our priority,” Mallo said. “And we need to find ways to ensure safety and to listen to the fears and to acknowledge them and to acknowledge that it’s real, that those fears are real, and we will do what’s in our power to mitigate the threats to security.”