Parents unhappy with how Akron-Westfield handled student’s alleged gun threat

AKRON, Iowa (KCAU) — Last Thursday, a student at Akron-Westfield Community School District allegedly threatened to bring a gun to school while upset in class. Now parents in the community are unhappy with how the school district notified them and handled the situation.

"I was just livid," parent Leslie Buryanek said.

"I wasn't surprised," parent Bobbie Joe Kenny said. "This has been kind of an escalating problem at Akron-Westfield."

While the incident occurred during school hours, parents weren't sent an email about the threat until more than 24 hours after it happened.

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"The email was received after the kids were released from school on Friday," Buryanek said. "It had happened the day before, so we weren't told anything about it."

In the email sent to parents, nowhere does it state the school went into lockdown after the student allegedly threatened to grab a gun. Instead, Akron Westfield officials "immediately responded by making direct contact with the student while in the building."

Parents believe the school should have done what Sioux Center School District did earlier this month .

"There was a threat written on a bathroom stall, and there was a lockdown initiated immediately and children were met with law enforcement," Joe Kenny said. "The situation was handled appropriately and timely and parents were notified immediately."

"They let the student leave the school with an administrative person following him,' Buryanek said. "They don't know if anybody else was involved. That school should have been locked down on the spot."

Akron parents told KCAU 9 that this is only one of many incidents that could have been handled better by the Akron-Westfield administration.

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"The bullying and everything at Akron, it never stops," Buryanek said. "It's gone on since my kids were in school, and now it's happening to my grandkids. It's nonstop. The administration has to do something."

"As an alumni from Akron, and my husband's an alumni and now I have two children who have both graduated from there, I do have a vested interest, and I do want to see great things for Akron-Westfield," Joe Kenny said. "What I don't want to see is us making national headlines because the leadership is failing to follow the legal procedures that are put in place there. They're failing to keep our children safe."

KCAU 9 reached out to the Akron-Westfield Community School District and the Akron Police Department for more information. However, neither gave a response or a statement.