Monument father upset district failed to notify him of reported threat against his son

A father says the Lewis-Palmer School District dropped the ball by not notifying him that a threat had reportedly been made against his son.

Kevin, who asked that his last name not be disclosed, said his 13-year-old son came home from Lewis-Palmer Middle School on Monday and told him that a boy had threatened to shoot and kill him and his friend.

Kevin recounted that conversation with his son. He said, “There was another kid at school that threatened to shoot and kill me and then he also said he was going to follow me to the bathroom and hurt me there.”

Kevin said his son and his friend told the assistant principal about the threat on Monday. The next day, Kevin met with school administrators.

“The vice principal deemed it a non-threatening issue because the word gun was not used even though this kid said he will come back and shoot you,” Kevin said.

Cheryl Wangeman, assistant superintendent of District 38, told KRDO NewsChannel 13, “We take every threat extremely seriously.”

Wangeman said the district contacted the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office about the reported threat but said she could not comment further since it’s under investigation.

Sgt. Greg White with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said investigators don’t believe there was a threat to the school.

“For them to say that they didn’t determine it was a threat — honestly, I find it kind of insulting,” Kevin said. “I think the biggest thing is you send your kid to school and you expect the staff to respond in a professional manner and I think a phone call was justified.”

Kevin said the student who reportedly made the threat has been suspended for several days. The school district would not confirm that.