'I'm feeling a bit worried.' Nervous parents drop off their kids at Monhagen MS following stabbing incident

Both parents and students arrived for a shorter school day along increased security measures.

News 12 Staff

Dec 14, 2023, 10:43 PM

Updated 359 days ago

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Parents who dropped off their kids at Monhagen Middle School Thursday morning were worried over their safety following the previous day's stabbing incident.
Both parents and students arrived for a shorter school day along increased security measures.
Administrators wanted it to be a day of calm and healing with some therapy dogs. No bags or school-issued devices were allowed inside.
Everyone had to go through a metal detector, and several police officers were on campus. Some parents said it was a little scary.
"There's nothing we can do. You send your kid into other people's hands but have to have confidence that they're going to keep them safe," said parent Nikki Tooma.
"I'm feeling a bit worried because of what's happening. We hope that everything gets better and that parents are aware and advise our children," said parent Jorge Garcia.
Others, like Moe Porzell, who dropped off his granddaughter, hope the district does more than just increase security.
"I would think there's a need to look into this a little deeper than an incident that took place at a moment," he said.
Several parents also told News 12 that they had trouble directly contacting their children during the lockdown because of the school's no phone in class policy. They would like that to be addressed.
"I didn't have anything on me. I had to use someone else's phone to contact them," said sixth grader Eli Robles.
News 12 reached out to the district with several questions about cellphone policy and how long they plan on keeping these extra security measures in place. News 12 had not heard back as of Thursday evening.
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News 12 also reached out to several administrators and board members to see how attendance was on Thursday but did not hear back on this either.
School will once again be on a three-hour delay on Friday morning.
Students will go through metal detectors and are asked not to bring any backpacks, large bags or provided devices.