LOVELAND, Colo. — Loveland High School's principal will be reinstated Monday after a school district investigation into what led several staff members to depart campus and left students and families in confusion after an unfounded threat last month.
Principal Michael James had been on administrative leave during the investigation. Classes at the high school were canceled March 29 after a Safe2Tell tip suggested a threat to the school and approximately 10 to 13 employees decided to leave campus.
"These past several days have been challenging for the entire LHS community, and we are immensely grateful for all of the feedback that we have received," Thompson School District said in a letter sent to families on Thursday.
According to the district, police and school district security personnel received information through Safe2Tell on the threat at 8:12 a.m. on March 29. The tip was investigated and determined to be unfounded, the district said in the letter.
At a staff meeting before classes that morning, outdated information about the threat was shared with staff, the district said.
"The way that it was described created a situation where some staff members believed that the best decision was to inform others that the school was not safe and that people should depart the campus," the district said.
The district had been preparing a communication to families when the school made the decision at about 9:45 a.m. to cancel classes for the rest of the day. After the cancellation, the district revised the communication and sent it to students, families and staff.
In the wake of the incident, the school district said it will implement new protocols including the creation of a Community Safety Committee and the organization of listening sessions for students to provide feedback on safety concerns, the district said.
The district also plans to increase the number of School Resource Officers within schools.
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