Kingsville ISD school year to end a week early after potential threat
Kingsville ISD announced Friday it was ending the school year a week early in response to the school shooting in Uvalde earlier this week and an anonymous tip about a potential copy-cat threat to Gillett Middle School.
An anonymous tip about a potential attack to the middle school was shared with the school district around 5:45 a.m. Friday, Superintendent Cissy Reynolds-Perez said.
The threat was passed on to the Kingsville Police Department. Around 6:30 a.m., the school district sent a robocall to families alerting them of the situation.
Kingsville Police Chief Ricardo Torres said the department has not "been able to substantiate that there was any credible threat."
The district still held classes Friday, but police provided an additional security presence. District central office staff also visited Gillett to provide extra supervision.
"(Police) found the source of that, and I left it in their hands," Reynolds-Perez said. "It seemed more like students spreading rumors, but we've still got to take that seriously."
Families who were not comfortable sending their students to school were advised attendance was not required Friday and students could stay home. Reynolds-Perez said about a third of Gillett Middle School students did not come in.
Before 11:30 a.m., the district announced Friday would be the last day of school. In a letter posted on Facebook, Reynolds-Perez outlined plans to close out the year.
"It's heart-breaking to tell the kids," she said.
The early end to the school year will not impact student grades or attendance, Reynolds-Perez said.
"The (Texas Education Agency) requires students attend school a certain amount of minutes," she said. "We always bank some days for events like this," or for school closures needed for COVID-19 outbreaks or severe weather.
Graduation for H.M. King High School has not been canceled or postponed.
"I understand that this change to our school year might be inconvenient to some, however in light of the tragedy in Uvalde, our priority is to do everything possible to reduce trauma and safety risks to our students, staff and parents," Reynolds-Perez said in the letter to the community.
Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Kingsville ISD school year to end a week early after potential threat
