Morris Knolls High School community afraid following students' gun-possession arrest

William Westhoven, Morristown Daily Record
·4 min read

DENVILLE — Five days after two students were arrested with a gun in their possession at Morris Knolls High School. Kathleen Nemerofsky stood before the Morris Hills Regional Board of Education.

Her voice shook as she spoke about her daughter, a senior, and her son, a freshman, who are afraid to use the bathrooms, where she claims they are solicited to buy "crack cocaine and marijuana."

The gun incident, which dominated public comment at the board's special meeting on Monday, compelled Nemerofsky to speak up. Her voice broke. "We need to do more. What is it going to take for the police department to be here more? Because, frankly, I'm afraid for my children."

Morris Knolls is part of the Morris Hills Regional District, serving students from Denville and Rockaway Township.

Five days after two students were arrested with a gun at Morris Knolls High School, parents, teachers and students speak out at a board of education meeting on March 27.
Five days after two students were arrested with a gun at Morris Knolls High School, parents, teachers and students speak out at a board of education meeting on March 27.

Students, teachers and parents were among the speakers at the meeting, many of whom criticized the school administration for not calling a lockdown during the incident.

"Think of Nashville today," said Nicole Denton, a teacher and president of the Morris Knolls Education Association, referring to the deadly shooting rampage on Monday at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, where three 9-year-old students and three staffers were killed. "We cannot live in denial that bad things won't happen here. They did happen here, on three separate occasions."

Denton was referring to previous incidents at Morris Knolls. One occurred Feb. 18, 2020, when police said two juvenile male students were arrested and charged with possession of a weapon after being discovered with a hunting knife in school. The investigation determined one student brought the knife to school and sold it to the second student.

Another juvenile male student was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon Jan. 25, 2022, after being discovered with an unloaded Airsoft gun in school.

Five days after two students were arrested with a gun at Morris Knolls High School, parents, teachers and students speak out at a board of education meeting on March 27.
Five days after two students were arrested with a gun at Morris Knolls High School, parents, teachers and students speak out at a board of education meeting on March 27.

In both cases, there were no known threats made towards any staff or students, Denville police said.

"I do not feel safe in this school anymore," student Madison Ridner told the board. "I don't feel safe just standing here. Every time the door opens, I look to check to see who's coming in."

Anticipating the criticism, Acting Superintendant Nisha Zoeller opened the meeting with a statement that during the latest incident, the administration "followed all appropriate procedures and collaborated with the Denville Police Department in a joint response."

Based on the "circumstances of the situation, and again with the advisement of the Denville Police Department, a lockdown was not called," Zoeller said.

She also reviewed standard procedures that occur whenever local law enforcement is involved in a school-related incident.

"From the moment any incident becomes a police matter, the police become the lead agency and school personnel take on a support role," Zoeller said.

Many of the speakers called for the installation of metal detectors in the school, drawing applause from the nearly 100 people in attendance. Others continued to criticize administrators for not calling a lockdown.

"I'm wondering why there was no lockdown," Redner said. "We've practiced since we were in kindergarten and we all know what to do."

Zoeller and Denton both praised a staff member who alerted authorities when he observed the two students in a bathroom.

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Teacher Kevin Kane said he was told "possession of the gun was exchanged in one of the bathrooms while classes were in session."

"School administration was alerted to the peculiar nature of the situation by an attentive staff member who, once alerted that the student returned to class with a package that was not in the student's possession when they had left, school administration began their investigation," Kane said. "For some time, unaware students and staff were in a classroom where a gun was secreted."

"There was no lockdown or modified lockdown that took place despite no one except the participants knowing what transpired in the bathroom," Kane continued. "When the student was taken into custody by the Denville police, they were escorted through the halls in front of students and staff. Students all across the school knew almost immediately that there was an arrest, yet there was no message from the administration about what had happened."

An email blast was finally sent out at 2:24 p.m., according to Kane.

Zoeller said due to the ongoing investigation, the board could not release any more information, but would do so in the coming days or weeks. "We intend to debrief with law enforcement and any other relevant parties to review our protocols and our security plan in order to make any needed changes to ensure the safety of our district community," Zoeller said.

That assurance wasn't enough for Kane.

"Friday morning [after the incident] was the first time that I really wasn't sure that I wanted to go to the school," he said. "I'm actually more uncomfortable [now] than when I came in on Friday."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Morris Knolls gun arrest: Students, teachers, parents afraid