SPOKANE, Wash. – School threats are increasing across the country, posing challenges for communities and impacting school budgets. Mo Canady, Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, has observed a troubling trend since the pandemic.
“School threats have been on the rise since the pandemic,” Canady said. He emphasized the importance of trained School Resource Officers (SROs) as a first line of defense, noting, “Having trained School Resource Officers as your first line of defense really puts you ahead of the curve.”
However, not every school has access to SROs, and the nature of threats has evolved, complicating their jobs. “Bottom line is, when we have a threat, we have to respond as if it is the right thing until we know that it’s not,” Canady stated.
Data from TDR, which uses School Access Manager, reveals that threats doubled from 79 to 201 between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. This increase has cost taxpayers an additional $2 million in the most recent school year.
Recently, schools in the Ephrata, Meridian, and Ferndale School Districts in Washington faced threats, costing taxpayers $350,000. Canady explained the uncertainty these threats bring, saying, “Whether it is one second or one hour, that we don’t know as a community if this is real or not.”
The FBI has found that these threats are increasingly coming from international sources. “It makes it all the more complicated, they are very difficult to track down and very difficult to catch these people,” Canady said.
For more information on the impact of school threats and the role of School Resource Officers, visit the National Association of School Resource Officers.
