By Matthew Avitabile
RICHMONDVILLE — Reports of unidentified people loitering around Radez Elementary School in Richmondville sparked considerable concern among parents earlier this month, including visits by the State Police. Despite the concern, Cobleskill-Richmondville is adamant that there was never a security breach or cause for alarm.
Radez’s unique position in downtown Richmondville means that there are sometimes reports of individuals coming onto or near the school campus. However, CRCS Superintendent Matthew Sickles said that reports of an individual attempting to lure children are unfounded.
It’s “not uncommon” for people to come into proximity to the campus, he said.
The first report came on Thursday, Oct. 2 in which an individual was on campus grounds. Sickles said that after investigation, the district believes that the individual was not aggressive and was approached by children. The person “picked up their pace” and left the area.
Several parents stated that their children had seen a person "chasing" an individual dressed in dark clothing around average height in his 40s with no glasses.
After the incident, the District said in a statement that an "unknown adult was observed by students walking across school property, along the tree line near I-88. While the individual did NOT approach the school building, the playground area, or students, or act aggressively in any manner, their presence on school grounds was concerning to some students."
One member of the school staff "was able to respond to the area" and the individual "completed their walk across school property and was no longer in the immediate vicinity." The school collected more information, including a description of the person and "their actions." The district reported the incident to law enforcement.
The next occurrence happened on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in which two students reported that a person in dark pants was near the property line.
Despite these reports, there was not any indication of “anything suspicious,” said the superintendent.
The district checked the surveillance camera footage and detected no one threatening.
In cases in which the district believes there is a threat, the school would contact police and parents, Sickles said.
Social media reports stated that there was a man with a yellow jacket and a hood covering his face as if to hide his identity. One report stated that the man was carrying a doll or plushy toy with concern that it would be used to lure children.
Parents described a concern that multiple visits could be a signal of a person attempting to probe the school grounds.
However, “none of that matched what was reported to us,” said the superintendent.
In particular, Sickles feared the spread of what he described as the spreading of inaccurate information.
Following the Oct. 7 concern, the Superintendent wrote to parents that the information was investigated by the district and that the school was "vigilant about monitoring our campuses and buildings and will continue to collaborate with law enforcement as needed."
A separate Facebook post from a school employee said that the claims were "BOGUS" and claimed that a "specific student exaggerated a dangerous sighting."
"This has caused needless fears among our student body and parents," the post read, cautioning to "check facts of truths before doing your false postings on Social Media."
On Wednesday, Oct. 8 the school put out a post to all school families related to concerns circulating in the community. There was “no information at the time to indicate a threat,” said the superintendent. The school sought to assess the situation to determine if school safety was at risk. The district would continue to work with law enforcement in this endeavor, said the superintendent.
The same day, members of the State Police were on campus following up on social media posts about the recent situation. Police were not responding to any new report.
Sickles said that it was “not uncommon” for police to “check” on campus on a routine basis.
“That was not from us,” he said.
The superintendent stated that the school had a “public safety responsibility” and was “confident in the safety of students” and if there was ever a case where there was any doubt, the district would take “aggressive action.”
The situation further developed on Friday, Oct. 10 during the school’s required annual dismissal drill. About ten or fifteen minutes prior to Radez’s planned early dismissal an individual “cut through campus,” said the superintendent. The district notified the police.
There is “no indication” that the unnamed individual who cut through campus was the first one students believed they saw on other occasions. Sickles said that there was a specific reason that the person had entered school grounds that the district “could not disclose.” At the same time a recess group was heading outside and ran into the person, who then cut into the nearby public park adjacent to the school.
Overall, the person was on campus for about 30 seconds, said the superintendent. This has been confirmed by the district reviewing the security footage, he said.
Sickles said that some students started shouting “there’s a man!” Some parents of students argued on social media that the person fit the description of the earlier person who came on or near school property or that the man was approaching a girl.
Such a report that the person was approaching a specific student was not true, said the superintendent. There is no indication that the person was the same one from the earlier incident, argued Sickles.
The school issued a statement at 4pm that day about the situation.In the Oct. 10 message, sent to parents at 3:59pm, the district said that staff members "witnessed the brief incident and immediately notified school administration."
The district notified the police and "inspected the area to confirm the individual was no longer present." The actions were done from an “abundance of caution,” said the superintendent.
Around 8pm the same night there was a call from the New York State Police to the district. The person had been identified as someone who occasionally cut across campus as a shortcut and was advised to no longer do this.
Some parents reported that they had kept their children home for parts of two weeks and some had put their concerns on social media.
There is no evidence of a single person arriving on or near the school grounds to stalk or lurk near the children, he said.
Members of the school have “dedicated our careers to keep students safe,” he said.
The school involves police “when it makes sense but not when it could cause more concern,” he said.
“People entrust their children with us,” he said, adding that the school takes responsibility for each student seriously.
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