Dear Parents,

In response to concerns about campus safety, I’m writing to inform you about recent events. On Tuesday, March 20, school administrators received a report that a student had pulled out a pellet gun in a Ukiah High School classroom. In collaboration with School Resource Officer Tony DeLapo, administrators investigated the matter, verified the information, arrested the student and recovered the pellet gun within hours.

In what appears to be an unrelated matter, a social media post threatened gun violence at Ukiah High School on Friday, March 23. We are working with local law enforcement to determine the source and credibility of the threat. In the meantime, we are taking precautions with heightened law enforcement presence at our school sites between now and Friday.

Ukiah Police Chief Chris Dewey said, “If at any time during this ongoing investigation into social media threats we receive information we determine to be a credible threat, the Ukiah Unified School District and Ukiah Police Department will close schools to ensure the safety of both students and educators.”

The Ukiah Unified School District and Ukiah Police Department are committed to investigating each and every lead in this investigation, and we encourage everyone to please contact the Ukiah Police Department with any information they may have. They can be contacted at 707-463-6262.

Student safety is our highest priority, which is why we have processes and procedures in place to assess any threat to any of our campuses. I am grateful to the UHS administrators for their work in these recent matters and for our strong partnership with local law enforcement.

It is important for parents and members of the public to understand that UUSD and UPD investigate many reports of inappropriate and/or illegal behavior. These investigations are not public. However, in the event of a threat to safety, we would inform all students and school personnel of the need to take action to assure their safety.

In addition to being the Superintendent, I am the mother of three Ukiah Unified students. I feel safe sending them to school because I know we do all we can every day to safeguard the children in our care.

Sincerely,

Debra Kubin, Superintendent