Less than a week after a Nome-Beltz Middle High School student brought a firearm to campus, community members expressed their concerns over student safety at a Nome Public Schools Board of Education meeting.
The student was arrested on Jan. 6 without injury and charged with terroristic threatening in the second degree and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree.
The topic went unmentioned during the opening half hour of the meeting leading up to public comments. Rhonda Sparks and Jessica Farley were first to speak during the public comment period, with both giving pleas to retain Mary Donaldson as Director of Special Education in a remote role.
“I don't understand why this administration keeps targeting her,” Farley said. “The buildings are falling apart. You've got huge issues everywhere else and this is the one department that is consistently improving year after year, and yet Mary keeps getting messed with. I don't understand.”
Krystal Hensley stepped up to speak, first agreeing with Farley and Sparks' remarks regarding Donaldson, then broached the topic of the previous week’s incident.
Hensley said she took particular issue with a letter issued by Superintendent Jamie Burgess, which claimed “no students were in danger” during the incident.
“The presence of a firearm on school property, whether loaded or unloaded, constitutes a significant safety risk,” Hensley said. “I was deeply troubled by the statement that no students were in danger. The presence of a firearm creates a dangerous situation and instills fear among students, staff and families.”
Hensley also took issue with the district’s communication following the incident. She said parents weren’t notified until about five hours after the incident.
“Had the firearm been loaded, the consequences could have been more severe,” Hensley added.
Ataasiaq Amber Otton called into the meeting to speak during the public comment period. She requested the board provide more clear information on the district’s procedures.
“I don't know what my daughter's supposed to do when something like this were to happen,” Otton said. “Somebody else said to me, ‘oh, but your daughter's in elementary school. That would never happen’, but it has happened in our country and it would be helpful as a parent to know what is the protocol because it doesn't sound like there is one.”
Rachel Ventress said as a mother of five children, she was also concerned over the district’s adherence to its ALICE protocols, a training system it uses for active shooter responses. She urged the district to follow through with a town hall meeting Superintendent Burgess suggested in a follow up letter regarding the incident.
“I would urge you not to put that off because I've stood in front of the board since 2021 asking for secure entry doors, and I've heard all the reasons why they can't happen and why they can't be here,” Ventress said. “But what many parents feel when they walk away is the school considers our children's safety as ‘might happen, might not’. And we don't like that feeling.”
During her remarks, Nome-Beltz Principal Teriscovkya Smith said the school did not go into lockdown, but instead issued a “stay in place” directive after the Nome Police Department determined “that our campus was not in danger”.
“We did realize in a debrief that our ‘stay in place’ language might need to be revisited,” Smith said. “We almost feel like we need a placeholder in between ‘stay in place’ and actual ALICE protocol.”
Smith said the school did hold debriefs with staff following the event but did not gather students together immediately after the incident.
“My reasoning for not having any kind of an assembly that week is again, I have to make sure my T’s are crossed and my I’s are dotted,” she said. “I don’t want to go into a school event reactive. I want to go into conversations in a proactive way.”
Burgess acknowledged the concerns shared during public comment in her report and confirmed that the district planned to reissue a request for proposals for school entrance security upgrades. The project has been delayed for nearly two years due to cost concerns and disputes with the City of Nome over cost-sharing.
A first draft of the district’s FY27 budget was also presented to the board. Burgess said the district is asking for $3.5 million from the city this year, a sharp uptick from the $2.7 million approved last spring for the current fiscal year, which was the lowest contribution from the city since the 2018 fiscal year.
“We believe that the recent incident highlighted how crucial it is that this project is put in place and goes forward,” Burgess said.
A date has not been announced for the town hall. KNOM has offered to livestream the event and will share a date when it has been established.
