Dear BPS families,

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard created a video message recently for our students regarding school safety. The same communication was also shared with students across the county alike, addressing the critical nature surrounding falsifying threats. We thank you in advance for reviewing the video with your student(s) and for partnering with us to create a safe environment. 

In the video, Sheriff Bouchard encourages students to always share information regarding any level of threats with parents, teachers or school administrators, as students are most likely to initially intercept this type of communication. The Sheriff’s Office also highlights that threats made against schools are a crime and will be investigated, holding those responsible individual(s) fully accountable. BPS applauds Sheriff Bouchard and county law enforcement for their continuous efforts to keep our students and staff safe.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently outlined probable punishments for making school threats. 

Potential charges individuals could face include:

• Communicating a threat of terrorism, 20-year felony.
• Calling in a bomb threat, a four-year felony.
• Malicious use of a telecommunications device, a six-month misdemeanor.
• Threatening violence against school employee or student, a one-year misdemeanor.

BPS leadership has worked diligently to ensure our students are in the safest academic environment possible. In March, we conducted a comprehensive safety audit of all district schools and implemented most of the recommendations. In addition, we hired a security director, Aaron Morandini, to coordinate security efforts for the district. We want to assure the Birmingham community that safety is our highest priority. 

In September, we held our Safety Town Hall meeting pertaining solely to safety protocols within the district. During that gathering, BPS committed to hosting a second Town Hall, which has been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in Seaholm High School’s auditorium. The upcoming January meeting will focus primarily on the district’s implementation of the ALICE protocol system. ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter & Evacuate) is a proactive options-based approach to responding to an active shooter incident.

We are asking all families to please facilitate discussions with their students, relaying the importance of reporting threats and the danger associated with falsifying threats. Again, thank you for being our partners in creating a safe academic environment for all students and staff.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mark Lineburg
Deputy Superintendent, Birmingham Public Schools