Wichita district officials: Southeast High ‘quiet’ after reported threat

A “very quiet, average day” at Southeast High School on Friday ended with students from the high school and nearby Curtis Middle School being dismissed from the school’s soccer field after a planned evacuation of both schools.

The schools were under heavier security after a threat was discovered Thursday in a school bathroom.

Susan Arensman, spokeswoman for the Wichita school district, said the evacuation was planned as a “precautionary measure” and was part of the district’s security protocol.

“We’re 99.999 percent sure nothing is going to happen, but we are having this (evacuation) just in case of that tiny chance something could,” Arensman said Friday morning.

Before 3 p.m. Friday, Wichita police officers blocked off all entrances and exits in the building, only allowing school buses into the parking lot.

Students evacuated the buildings around 2:45 p.m. as fire alarms went off.

They then stood on the athletic fields, supervised by security officers, until around 3:15 p.m., when students were allowed to leave.

Threats have been reported at Wichita-area high schools multiple times this fall. South High School and Maize High School are two examples.

Southeast High, at Lincoln and Edgemoor, had extra security on hand Friday because of the threat. District officials would not specify the nature of the threat that was discovered by a student or when it was discovered.

Arensman said Southeast reported an “average amount of absences” Friday, including about a dozen absences where parents cited the threat as the reason their children were not attending.

“A very quiet, average day today,” Arensman said. “In past incidences at other schools, we have had larger numbers of parents keeping their children home.”

Terri Moses, executive director of safety services for the school district, said the morning at Southeast was “better than quiet and routine.”

“We were very pleased with the cooperation we received” from students, she said.

All classes and evening events were scheduled to go on as planned at the school Friday, including basketball games between Southeast and West High, Arensman said.

Wichita police referred all questions to the school district.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Wichita district officials: Southeast High ‘quiet’ after reported threat."