In school situation causes green bay east to close

By Jackson Heller

The end of December has been a scary one for all GBAPS, let alone East. In an age where school shootings and acts of violence against students are at an all time high, students all around Green Bay were almost met with the grisly reminder that violence can happen, no matter where you are.

It all started with three threats of violence against Preble High School. Two students aged 15 and 16 admitted to making a threat against the school, thinking it would be funny. The next day, a 14 year old was arrested for posting a threat on Snapchat. No matter what the validity of these threats were, the effects were felt around the district.

Attendance numbers plummeted in the days following the threats, and the air around the high schools was one of nervousness and unease. Then, the next week on a Monday morning, things got real at Green Bay East High School. It all started when a student entered through an unguarded entrance in the morning. One of the associate principals, Joseph Brooker, acted on pure intuition.

After watching them put away something in her locker, he went and searched it off of a gut feeling. The search revealed a handgun that had been stashed there that morning. During the event, the school had been put on a level two lockdown, further adding to the unease circulating the school. 

In the end, it turns out that the gun was carried in with no intent to harm students. The student had stashed their significant other’s handgun, who went to Preble, in her locker. After stashing the gun, she went to class. Why she entered through an unguarded exit is unknown. Regardless, Green Bay East shut down for the next three days.

After the shutdown, East has returned with some changes. Students must now wear/fill out a student ID at all times and are not allowed to wear winter coats in classrooms. These rules will allow greater transparency between staff and students and keep everyone a bit safer. On top of that, unguarded exits will now stay locked at all times and heavily monitored. It’s safe to say that East dodged a bullet that day, but they are taking significant steps to prevent another situation from happening. Hopefully the nature of this situation can become a thing of the past.