A group of about 50 parents and students met with State College Area School Board members on Wednesday evening to express their concerns with the security at State High following the arrest of a man accused of plotting a mass shooting at the school.
Braeden Phillips, 20, was taken into custody by State College police on April 11 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly planning the attack against his former high school for Monday, April 21. Since then, tensions have been heightened at the school.
On Monday, the day witnesses told police the attack was planned for, the high school saw student attendance fall to 64%. The next day, attendance rose back to 93%, though one thing was missing: the portable metal detectors the school put in place after the alleged plan was discovered and thwarted.
The removal of the metal detectors was at the forefront of the board’s regularly scheduled “Conversation with the Community” on Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble on Benner Pike, as well as concerns that the school district wasn’t doing enough to support students’ mental health.
After the school district and police disclosed information regarding their investigation of the attack to the public, the school district installed two metal detectors at the high school’s entrance. When long lines resulted in an hour-long delay to the school schedule, the district borrowed three more metal detectors from Penn State.
The district has since returned those borrowed metal detectors, and at a board meeting on Monday night, agreed to purchase three more of its own. At a Wednesday morning meeting between administrators, school leaders hadn’t settled on how frequent their use would be, Nabil Mark, media and communications manager for the school district, said.
However, five students at Wednesday’s gathering said they preferred going to school with the metal detectors. A letter from parents set to be sent to the board called for their immediate reinstatement.
“These measures were initially implemented in direct response to a credible threat, and their sudden removal, without fully prepared alternatives or adequate explanation, has only intensified the anxiety and fear among students, staff and families,” the letter, provided by Elisa Huncik, the parent of a 10th grader, read. “Students and staff deserve not just reassurance, but visible and tangible safety measures while trust in the school’s safety infrastructure is being restored.”
A Change.org petition asking for the reinstatement of metal detectors garnered 84 signatures as of Wednesday’s meeting.
Several parents and students said at the board meeting on Monday night that the metal detectors should remain in place especially because police are continuing to investigate.
State College Police Chief John Gardner reiterated that there is currently no credible threat against any district school.
“My wife and I are the parents of two children that graduated from this school district in [2016] and [2017]. And if this incident would have occurred when my children were in school… I would have been comfortable sending my kids to school knowing what I know right now,” Gardner said on Monday night. “And I don’t take that lightly in saying that. So that’s the best assurance I can give you right now. Can I sit here and say that nothing will ever happen? I can’t give you that. But I feel about this particular incident, that’s where we’re at right now.”
Communication from the district has often been spotty, parents and students said. Parent Susan Varner argued for more transparency from the district, and students said communication hasn’t been clear. Mark, however, said the district has shared all relevant information with families.
State High Principal Laura Tobias, has also been meeting with the leaders of student groups, Mark said, to understand their concerns better.
Families and students also said the district wasn’t doing enough to support students’ mental health in the wake of the planned attack. Students felt support fell under the district’s responsibility, but that the district and families were playing “hot potato” with the duty.
“Mental health is a huge priority for us,” Mark said. The school district has sent guidance to students and families about meeting with mental health counselors and offered other resources.
However, parents felt that wasn’t enough.
“Simply directing students to meet with school counselors is not an effective solution. Many students report that these meetings feel impersonal, limited to pre-scripted scenarios, and fail to provide meaningful support or address their specific concerns,” that same letter read. “What students need is not generic guidance, but sincere, transparent efforts that acknowledge their lived reality, communicate clear commitments to their safety, and demonstrate a genuine intent to support their well-being.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly cited Nabil Mark as saying that because there was no active threat against the school there was no need for the metal detectors. While there is no active threat and the metal detectors are not currently being used, the district is determining the need for them and evaluating how they will be used in the future.
