Leechburg, school district leaders to discuss safety protocols after school threat

What officials are calling a miscommunication over an unfounded school threat could lead to better emergency protocols in Leechburg.

Officials from Leechburg and Leechburg Area School District plan to meet privately Tuesday to discuss protocols for emergency situations affecting the borough and school district.

Borough Public Safety Director and Councilman DJ Zelczak said the meeting is intended to “build stronger bonds and make clear protocols that all parties agree with.”

Also attending will be Leechburg Area Superintendent David Keibler, school board president Ashley Coudriet, Mayor Doreen Smeal, the borough’s police committee and Leechburg Police Chief Jason Schaffer.

The meeting stems from what Zelczak and Keibler called a miscommunication that occurred between the borough, the school district and the borough’s police department when a note was found inside Leechburg Area High School the night of Sept. 6. The note was pink with pink writing reading “I’m going to shoot up the school,” Keibler said.

Keibler presented a letter to council that he received from Chief Schaffer, citing a section of the school code that outlines a plan of action for administration to follow when the school is presented with a threat. Keibler said the letter claimed the school did not follow protocol when handling the situation.

“He’s telling me I didn’t follow protocol, but I did text him first in the morning,” Keibler told council.

Keibler wrote a responsive letter to council about Schaffer’s correspondence and presented it to council Sept. 17. The letter outlined the actions taken by the superintendent after the note was found.

Keibler told the council he texted Schaffer a photo of the note the morning after it was found and Schaffer replied telling him to call 911. Keibler said he followed up with the school’s security team to review security footage from the school, and texted Christopher Fabec, chief of Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department about the note.

After reviewing the security tape, Keibler said he contacted state police as well.

While the threat was found not to be credible, students were met with extra security provided by police and the school’s security guards. Schaffer previously told TribLive he did morning patrols around the exterior of the school on Sept. 16.

The school code states that the police department with jurisdiction in the municipality of the school should be notified first of any threat. It’s then up to that department to notify surrounding departments of the situation.

“The letter was pointing out… that the local police with jurisdiction should’ve been contacted first, and I wanted to put it on record that the first person I reached out to was the chief of police of Leechburg Borough,” Keibler told TribLive.

Zelczak said, while the letter was a product of Schaffer’s thoughts and opinions, he did help the chief format the correspondence.

“I’m not really sure,” Keibler said in regard to the cause of the first letter being written. “It was written by the police chief stating that I didn’t (notify him), but obviously he received the text message I sent him at 8:11 that Saturday morning. I was a little confused about the process of what was going on. That’s why I questioned what other pieces were behind the letter.”

Zelczak then wrote a letter back to the school district as the borough’s public safety director, outlining how he thought the district could have handled the situation differently, and better follow the school code.

“I truly believe Dr. Keibler and the Leechburg (Area) School Board want nothing but the absolute best for the children and their school community in terms of safety and security,” Zelczak said. “I do believe that any action or position that they take is from that position. The Leechburg municipality feels the exact same way.”

The string of correspondence led to the meeting Tuesday to smooth out lines of communication. Zelczak and Keibler emphasized the safety and security of the school is essential.

“I’m pretty sure we’re on the right track now after the miscommunications that occurred on the weekend that was in question there,” Keibler said. “I think we’ll be able to formalize the procedures at that meeting on (Tuesday) that will make sure that the situation that occurred and miscommunication doesn’t happen again.”

Keibler said as he went through the process of the investigation and dealing with the threat that weekend, he had some strong feelings that some things should have been done differently.

“I can say without a doubt I feel that personalities and egos were put in front of student safety in the whole situation,” Keibler said about the letters. “I believe after talking with the mayor, student safety will be the top priority in conversations moving forward.”

He said his original plan was to set up a meeting with the borough’s mayor until the first letter arrived. Keibler and Zelczak said they’ve already worked past the letters and have begun to discuss a way to improve the plan for any future situations involving the school code’s rules.

“Everyone is clearly interested, first and foremost, with student and school community safety and security,” Zelczak said. “We are all on the same page there.”

After the miscommunication, Keibler requested a meeting to involve every entity in a procedure and make each player’s expected actions clear. Zelczak agreed the protocol could be improved and said borough leaders are already on track to make those improvements happen.

The meeting on Tuesday is meant to solidify the plan.

“I’m very thankful to the school board for calling that meeting and requesting that meeting from our mayor so we can absolutely make sure that we’re all on the same page regarding protocol,” Zelczak said.