Walnut Middle School Placed In Secure Mode After Reported Threats On Bus

(Grand Island, NE) - An email regarding a resolved bus incident was sent to patrons by Grand Island Public Schools Superintendent Matt Fisher just before 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 14th. 

Dear Islander Families,

We want to make you aware of a resolved situation affecting Walnut Middle School and Grand Island Senior High.

As a school bus was transporting a small group of students from Senior High and stopping at Walnut as part of the normal bus route, it was reported that threats were heard on the bus. We take all threats, whether actual or fake, seriously, so we immediately began working with the Grand Island Police Department (GIPD) to investigate the credibility of the threat.

As part of our standard safety protocol, we placed Walnut Middle School into a secure mode.

Secure Mode means all doors remained locked, all students and staff stayed inside, and no one entered or exited the building. Since the situation happened near the end of the school day, student pick-up at Walnut was placed briefly on hold.

All students and staff remained safe. 

GIPD removed the students from the bus and the student responsible for issuing the threatening remarks will be receiving consequences.

Within 15 minutes, we were given the “all clear” from GIPD and our District Security Team.

Buses and student pick-up were able to run as normal but just a few minutes behind schedule. 

We want to thank the campus SROs and the GIPD. We remain grateful to have our systems in place that help us uncover and resolve situations like these. Their commitment to ensuring our students, staff, and community are safe is to be commended. 

I want you to know that our number one priority is to make sure our students and staff remain safe while at school. Our Safety & Security Team and the GIPD have affirmed for me that the situation has been handled appropriately and safely. 

If you or any of your students need additional support, please don’t hesitate to let your building principals know. 

Thank you for your support,

- Mr. Matt Fisher,
Superintendent, Grand Island Public Schools