Despite a threat on social media, the graudation of the Chippewa Hills High School Class of 2018 will go on as planned.
A threat was made regarding the event, according to a statement made by Chippewa Hills School District Superintendent Michael Bob Grover. The event takes place at 6:30 p.m. today at the high school at 3226 Arthur Rd. in Remus, which is in between Isabella and Mecosta counties.
“A few days ago a social media post was shared with the school and local authorities that referenced the graduation threat made earlier this year,” Grover said in a statement Thursday on the district’s Facebook page.
The threat Grover referred to occurred in February involved inflicting harm to other students with weapons, as reported by the Big Rapids Pioneer.
Specifically, there were students who joked about school shootings, according to the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office.
District staff became aware of the threat on Tuesday afternoon, Grover said Friday.
One of the students involved in this threat had been addressed by the school board through a hearing, Grover said.
“The local authorities assessed the situation considering the prior incident and took further action. However, the students involved are not being held,” he said.
The school is working with local authorities with support from the Michigan State Police.
“While the details of security measures are not being shared, as advised, you can be assured that the school is taking additional measures to keep the graduation ceremony safe,” Grover said.
No threats were made towards the school day and only references were made toward graduation based on the prior incident.
Parents and students have the right to not participate and would be given their diploma, Grover said.
Grover said he is unaware of any students being removed from the graduation by their parents because of the threat.
“I cannot take away fear instilled by others outside our reigns and ability to impact, but I can assure you that we are taking the matter seriously and doing all we can on our end to assure the safety of our students, our children,” Grover said. “I ask that people not add to the rumor mill by restating unknown ‘facts’ or posting items that create more fear as that simply reinforces the strength of the threat.” This story will be updated as more information becomes available.