By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com
San Benito Consolidated Independent School District recently addressed a written threat on campus grounds.
The district addressed the issue on its official Facebook page on Sept. 17.
“San Benito High School administrators discovered a potential written threat on campus and have initiated their safety protocols, which include notifying our district police and safety departments. No students or staff were at risk during the discovery of the written threat, and there were no safety concerns during the dismissal of the school day,” stated the District.
The district encouraged parents to alert their children to report safety concerns.
“We strongly believe that parents and guardians must play a vital role in addressing safety threats. They must also encourage students to report safety concerns to campus administrators and the police. The engagement of parents and families makes a real difference,” stated the District.
Luis Gonzales Jr., Director of Public Relations for SBCISD, provided insight into the school’s management of these issues. “In the event of safety threats to the school, whether received in written or verbal form, our campus administrators promptly notify our district police department and the director of safety and security. An assessment is then conducted to thoroughly investigate the threat and determine the immediate safety and security measures to be implemented for the immediate surroundings and the entire campus or facility. After these procedures are completed, law enforcement and the campus administration decisively determine the course of action,” stated Gonzales.
When asked how to stop these threats from happening, Gonzales urged students and staff to “stay vigilant” and for parents and guardians to educate their children about the dangers of making threats to the school.
“Students need to understand the potential consequences they may face for making threats, even if done as a joke, as these consequences can impact their future,” stated Gonzalez.
Many schools across the nation are facing threats of their own. A sheriff in Florida has resorted to publicly revealing the names and faces of those who make threats to harm the school. Research from Statista, a website dedicated to providing statistics on various topics, shows that there were 82 school shootings in America in 2023 and already 35 in 2024.
The National Center for School Safety provides a few ways schools can take precautions against these issues, including an increase in monitoring student activity, providing counseling to students, notifying and increasing law enforcement and security in the school, conducting backpack and locker checks, and notifying the council and parents about anyone the threat targets.
Gonzales highlighted the work by San Benito CISD to make its schools the safest for their students. This includes training sessions with the admin, police, security, and local law enforcement.
“San Benito CISD has been adhering to state safety standards for years and consistently achieves excellent safety audits conducted by Texas state officials. This includes random, unannounced audits of our facilities, in which zero deficiencies were noted from August 2022 to the present date. This is attributed to the professionalism of our police and security team, administrators, teachers, support staff, and, most importantly, our students—a true testament to our Gold Standard of Service at San Benito CISD,” stated Gonzales.
The school will alert the public about developments through the district’s social media and messenger system. Any suspicious activity found on campus or online should be reported immediately to the San Benito CISD Police and Security Department at (956) 361-6484 or 361-6480 or the San Benito CISD Administration Offices at (956) 361-6100.
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