Preble High holds safety listening session

Hundreds of concerned community members packed Preble High School Monday night to discuss how to better protect students after a loaded gun and ammunition were found in a student’s backpack last week.

Green Bay Police, school officials, and local leaders hosted a community roundtable, inviting families to share ideas on improving safety in Green Bay schools.

Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis outlined what happened. He said a fight broke out near the cafeteria at lunchtime, and after the altercation was broken up by the school resource officer, a loaded handgun was discovered in a classroom.

He stressed that the investigation is ongoing. “We’re looking at the sequence of events that led to this,” said Davis, adding, “we’re focused on understanding how a 16-year-old came to have a handgun at school… and we’re very interested in all the links along that chain.”

The hard part, he said, is how to prevent this from happening again.

Throughout the hearing on Monday, community members discussed various safety measures, including increased police presence, more mental health resources, and even potential changes to school dress codes, processing their thoughts in small group sessions.

Superintendent Vicki Bayer acknowledges that the pending clear backpack policy won’t entirely eliminate risk, but she emphasized that it’s an important step toward minimizing hazard.

“So I made the call, that we are going to move to clear backpacks. I know you know this… this doesn’t solve the problem. If a student wants to bring a gun into school, they will find a way,” she said, “but our job is to minimize that risk.”

Since the policy announcement, the district has raised funds to purchase clear backpacks, as a new policy to require them is set to start next week.

“The message to me was clear: you need to do something now. Send a clear message to the kids that have guns, and the adults in the community that are allowing this to happen, that we are going to take action right now.”

Since the district announced a new clear bag policy last week, donations have totaled more than $42,000. The clear bag policy goes into effect next Monday.

The school board will review the suggestions made during Monday night’s meeting and present a detailed plan at the next board meeting on October 13.

But Bayer says nothing’s off the table, and told community members to give their best ideas. “If you have an idea that we should be considering, write it down,” she said.