Hilton CSD officials respond to questions from families after second bomb threat

HILTON, N.Y. A lot of questions and concerns remain after a second bomb threat was made against Hilton schools. District officials hosted an online virtual meeting Friday to address as many questions as possible.

After spending over two hours answering questions submitted online by parents, district officials say there will be changes to security protocols following this week’s bomb threats while assuring parents that all measures taken this week were taken out of an abundance of caution for student safety.

HCSD Director of Safety and Security David Inzana said that keeping school doors locked during after-school activities is just one change that is being made to enhance the safety of all students.

“We have changed the policy as far as having doors unlocked for early evening events,” Inzana said. “We will be going back to all locked facilities after security leaves.”

Responding to a parent question about the second bomb threat and why some students were kept on buses and others were kept in school buildings, Superintendent Casey Kosierek said it all came down to logistics.

“We were already in session at the high school at Merton Williams, so that caused us to move into a lockout and then a shelter in place as we brought the nitrate dogs in,” Kosierek said. “So that was important for us in order to maintain the instructional day.”

As the investigation continues into who is responsible for sending out the bomb threat emails, Kosierek says that a similar threat was sent to a school district in Iowa.

“If we cancel every single day that a threat comes in, they will continue,” Kosierek said. “There is a potential for copycats and we will be in a position where it is very difficult for us to maintain a quality instructional day for our students. That being said, when we need to cancel, we will.”

Leaders promised parents that the district will continue to adapt its security measures and notification procedures to keep students safe and parents informed.