The Butler Area and Slippery Rock Area school districts as well as numerous private schools canceled class Thursday, Sept. 12, with some listing threats or caution as the reason.

The closures came the day after Butler Area School District ordered a modified lockdown at the high school and intermediate school due to a vague threat found on social media.

The district intended to operate as normal on Thursday, but threats received over night naming the high school and Butler in general caused the district to cancel classes for the day, according to superintendent Brian White.

The Slippery Rock Area School District followed suit out of “an abundance of caution,” and several private schools closed too. A message sent to parents from Butler Catholic School principal John Hazur indicated its building closed due to its reliance on bus transportation from the Butler Area School District.

But the message sent to Butler Area parents from White at 5:18 a.m. addressed threats directly, saying school would be canceled as the district was not able to investigate “all these new posts” and law enforcement had not yet confirmed the credibility of the threats.

“This situation is incredibly disruptive to our school community,” White said. “It is unreasonable to expect our students and staff to focus on learning in an environment clouded by fear and uncertainty.

“While I am disappointed by the impact this situation has on our students and families, I am deeply frustrated by the individuals responsible for this disruption and the emotional distress they have caused.”

He said he requested a meeting with the Butler County district attorney’s office, assistance from the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, and support from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

“Please know that I am committed to pursuing all available legal avenues to hold those responsible accountable,” he said in that post.

He also shared intentions to meet with the district’s solicitor to explore any further legal actions, and, despite the school closure, principals and school police, in coordination with local law enforcement, were going to spend the time focused on identifying those responsible for the threats.

Later Thursday, White contacted parents again to say none of the threats were credible.

“At this time, we have not identified any credible threats to Butler Area School District,” he said. “Every report, post, and piece of information that we have received was thoroughly reviewed in collaboration with law enforcement.”

White said Thursday was unique in how a single threat quickly multiplied into many potential threats through social media.

“In the past, when a threat was made against a school, it was typically a specific, isolated incident,” he said. “However, with the rise of social media platforms, we are seeing a single threat rapidly multiply into multiple potential threats through reposts and comments.

“This is exactly what we have experienced over the past 24 hours.”

Schools across Western Pennsylvania have been affected by threats this week. The threats prompted lockdowns, modified lockdowns, early dismissals, transitions to virtual classes and outright cancellations across the region.

In one Pittsburgh Public School building Thursday, students were evacuated as police were called to respond to the sighting of an unknown man inside the school. A full lockdown was put in place before police asked to have the building evacuated.

In Butler, White explained the recent local threats to parents in his Thursday afternoon email.

“Over the last few days, schools across Western Pennsylvania have received threats, primarily through Snapchat,” he said. “The Butler Area School District was not initially mentioned in these threats, and law enforcement determined that these threats were hoaxes or non-credible threats.

“It is our understanding that a post containing these threats was unfortunately shared within unofficial Snapchat groups connected to our students. As people commented on and reposted these threats, new potentially threatening messages emerged and required additional evaluation on our part.”

He said that while this was occurring, a Shaler Area School District student posted additional threats, specifically targeting Butler. Shaler Area superintendent Bryan O’Black issued a statement Wednesday noting police identified a district student was involved.

“The police are continuing their investigation, however have determined that this individual does not pose a threat to the school district,” O’Black said. “We will work collaboratively to ensure that appropriate actions are taken in accordance with applicable laws, district policies and individual privacy rights.”

Even though the student admitted to making the threats, the “same cycle of reposting and commenting began,” and led to more threatening content that required additional evaluation, White said.

He said the district needed to coordinate with multiple law enforcement agencies to verify the available information.

“Unfortunately, this process is not simplistic, and I had to make the difficult decision to close school today to ensure everyone’s safety while we evaluated the threats and available information,” he said.

Earlier Thursday, before the superintendent’s afternoon update, one Butler Area parent, Amanda Gibson, whose son is in seventh grade at the intermediate high school, said the district should communicate better with parents.

She said her son texted her about the threat Wednesday before the district notified parents. She recalled receiving a text from her son about the threat soon after she dropped him off, causing her to turn around and go back to the school to pick him up.

When she went back to pick him up, no school officials seemed to know about the threat, she said.

“I knew about it way before the school knew,” Gibson said.

On Thursday, she found herself scrambling again when the district informed parents, shortly before 6 a.m., that all classes were canceled. She had to find someone to watch her son in order to go to work.

“Are people being arrested? Are the threats being taken seriously? They’re being very vague with information. Do they know who it is? Is it safe for school tomorrow?” Gibson said.

The Butler Area School District and Butler Catholic School announced Thursday evening that classes are expected to resume Friday. Slippery Rock Area School District was not available for comment.

“We look forward to seeing everyone back at BCS tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024,” Hazur said to parents in a message sent early Thursday afternoon.

Butler Catholic School, St. Wendelin School in Butler and St. Gregory School in Zelienople were closed Thursday.

“I would like everyone to know that at no time were there any threats made to our school. BCS was forced to close today, because we rely on 80% of bus transportation from BASD,” Hazur wrote to parents.

He added that the FACTS system the school uses to send notifications had a glitch Thursday morning that prevented him from notifying parents earlier.

The Butler Area School District is pursuing legal action against a social media site for not taking corrective action or alerting the district about a “significant volume of threatening posts” that were made, according to White, who said the district is committed to holding those who are responsible for the threats accountable for their actions.

White said he met Thursday morning with District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who said he will provide a letter outlining his office’s actions. White said he will share the letter with parents.

Even though the original threats did not come from the Butler County community, the actions of individuals who reposted and made threatening comments constitute criminal acts, White said.

In addition to potential criminal charges, district students who were involved will face disciplinary action from the district. White said he intends to bring those students before the school board for disciplinary hearings. He said the district also may seek civil restitution for the costs incurred as a result of the threats.

“Moreover, we intend to hold the social media platform, Snapchat, accountable. There was a significant volume of threatening posts on Snapchat. Yet Snapchat failed to take any corrective action or alert the district. We have directed our solicitor’s office to pursue appropriate legal measures,” White said.

Schools within the district will operate on their normal schedules Friday, and principals and counselors are preparing to assist students with lingering anxiety and fear. Parents wishing to keep their children home Friday should send a note to their children’s schools Monday, White said.

The district expects to see residual posts and comments for some time, and will investigate them and quickly act on new information, he said.

Lastly, White asked parents to report any threatening message their children receive through texts or social media. Parents can call the district or police, but he encouraged parents to report concerns on the Safe2Say platform, which allows the district to respond more quickly. Safe2Say can be reached at 1-844-SAF2SAY or www.safe2saypa.org.