SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Some South Haven parents have chosen not to take their children to school Wednesday or Thursday after they claim an incident at the middle school left their children scared.
"It was very dangerous on what happened yesterday, the incident that took place," said Jessica Scherer, a South Haven parent. "There was a lot of lack of communication with the parents and the school, and that is not okay."
Scherer and many other parents were not pleased with the way the district notified parents about a "perimeter lockdown" that happened Tuesday.
FOX 17 confirmed with school officials that this was the exact notification sent to families:
"Out of an abundance of caution we did place District Buildings into perimeter lockdowns. Outside activities are suspended. This was due to local law enforcement advice after they learned of a person in crisis in a vehicle. When the person was located and detained, we lifted our lockdown."
"It happened inside the building. It was a substitute teacher, and I just don't think it ... it's not okay," Scherer said.
According to a press release the district sent Wednesday morning, at the end of the first hour at Baseline Middle School, a student complained about a substitute in the classroom.
The release goes on to say that the sub was discussing political topics with students that made them feel uncomfortable. Officials claim they conducted an investigation and interviewed students.
Afterward, they arranged a discussion with the substitute, who left the building at the end of the third hour.
Scherer claims her daughter was in the sub's second-hour class. When FOX 17 asked Scherer what her daughter told her happened, she said, "The teacher, I guess, was making the threatening remarks to the students, to the little girls and the boys, also making threatening remarks, as in knowing where they lived, and he was going to go and blow up their house and do things to the little girls that was unnecessary and should have never even came out."
According to the press release, no reports were made that the substitute made any threatening statements toward students or the school system.
It also says the lockdown was initiated due to information shared with the school resource officer from the Allegan County Sheriff's Office.
They were notified of a concern from a family member of the sub. The concern stemmed from statements made toward the individual and their family. The family member also stated that the sub had just been let go from their sub position with South Haven Public Schools.
The district says the secured perimeter lasted until the individual was located by Allegan County law enforcement.
Officials say the sub has been blocked from working with them again and a no-trespass order will be issued.
In the meantime, Scherer and her family say they are still scared.
"This is not okay, and parents should not have to go to bed worrying about, Should I send my kids to school tomorrow?" she said.
FOX 17 reached out to the district superintendent and the South Haven police chief but have not heard back.
The press release says the school resource officer is continuing to interview and collect information from students and staff.
You can read the full statement from the district here:
Statement Re_ Substitute Teacher by news on Scribd
Hopkins Public Schools (HPS) tells FOX 17 deputies informed them an individual was traveling north toward Hopkins, prompting Hopkins Elementary, Hopkins Middle and Hopkins High schools to shelter in place for roughly 10 minutes until they were told the suspect was arrested. There was no threat issued to the district.
HPS says it later discovered the suspect was a South Haven substitute teacher who once subbed for them and other districts throughout Allegan and Van Buren counties.
We also reached out to Edustaff, the company the substitute teacher worked for, who says they are working alongside both school districts to collect as much information as possible, adding the teacher in question had undergone rigorous background checks. They also say the sub has been placed on leave while the investigation continues.
"We are fully committed to supporting the school districts in ensuring the safety and security of their staff and students," Edustaff writes.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
