When three separate threats of violence disrupted Franklin Elementary School in recent weeks, Wausau school officials faced the challenge of acting fast without spreading fear — a balance that’s hard to strike in any district.
The first of the school threats came in the opening weeks of the school year, followed by two more in quick succession. Each prompted immediate coordination with law enforcement and internal safety teams.
In a conversation on WPR’s “Morning Edition,” Superintendent Cale Bushman said such situations are among the most challenging a school system can face because administrators must balance transparency with accuracy and sensitivity. When threats do emerge, district officials work with police to evaluate each case based on age, intent and context to determine next steps.
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“A comment made by a kindergarten student is different from a comment made by a high school student,” Bushman said. “But typically, when a threat comes to us, we involve our police department as soon as we can based on the level of the threat, and we wait for their decision as to whether or not it’s credible.”
Bushman said the district’s approach to threats falls into three broad categories: prevention, response and reaction. Prevention involves building strong relationships with students and families, encouraging them to report concerns through programs such as Speak Up Speak Out — a statewide anonymous reporting system.
Once a potential threat surfaces, the response phase begins. Administrators assess the nature of the report and bring in the Wausau Police Department when appropriate.
When threats escalate to the reactionary stage, the district follows a standardized “threat assessment” process to determine risk levels and next steps. That assessment can lead to consequences ranging from education to expulsion, along with interventions such as counseling or safety plans.
Bushman noted that even noncredible threats carry emotional consequences for students, staff and parents. The district’s pupil services team, including counselors and psychologists, is made available to help students process fear and anxiety.
He emphasized that the district’s broader goal is prevention through connection — ensuring every child has at least one trusted adult within the school system.
“The relationship component to this is really important for us,” Bushman said. “If we have students who are having difficulties or challenges, getting in to meet with them and having them talk with us can resolve a lot of things in a proactive fashion.”
The following interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
Shereen Siewert: What went through your mind when you first heard about a threat at a Wausau elementary school?
Cale Bushman: Those are always difficult situations. Obviously, the first thing we want to do is make sure that we’re isolating to make sure the threat isn’t deemed credible. The other thing we do is to ensure we communicate with our families as quickly as possible to let them know what’s happening. That does sometimes put the school in a difficult situation because we want to make sure the information we are sending is accurate and that we aren’t causing more trauma for our families in that communication.
SS: When the district sees a reported threat, what is the response?
CB: Here, a few things have to happen. People are pretty good at getting information to the administrator inside of the building. As information comes to them, they have to factor in the variables that come into play.
And at that point, we start talking about whether we need to isolate the student to figure out what’s going on. We also want to give as much information to our families as we can, knowing that we are sometimes limited to how specific we can be with that information. If it’s a police investigation, we don’t want to give information that will impede their efforts, but at the same time we would like to tell our families when there is a concern we’re dealing with.
SS: Let’s talk about the reactionary standpoint. What kind of discipline is considered?
CB: There is certainly a disciplinary stance we take ranging from education to suspension to pre-expulsion and expulsion. There can also be legal ramifications for students who do things that make other students feel unsafe. The school participates in a process called a threat assessment, which is a statewide program we use. We have people within our district who are trained in it, along with a certified national trainer who works in our district. All our staff members, from teachers to administrators to student services and school psychologists, are trained.
When a threat happens, you get a group of people together to gather around the table to talk about the incident, the variables involved and what is going on. In the end, we determine a level of risk ranging from high to low. That helps us decide the next step with the student and determine whether it is safe for them to be in school. We discuss whether we need to put a safety plan in place. We may force the family to seek counseling for the student. There could be random searches or required meetings with a counselor. In a lot of situations, the threats don’t get to that level because they’re deemed not credible.
SS: What are some of the consequences when a threat is not considered credible?
CB: If it’s a situation like a young student who makes a silly comment, there will still be consequences to go with it, but we’re also going to educate that student to make sure we aren’t putting our other students in a bad situation. What’s challenging for us is that even in those cases, when a threat occurs, even one that isn’t credible, there is damage inflicted. There is emotional trauma for our kids and for our parents. We want to be very aware of those things and make sure we’re taking care of all our kids. We are proud of the pupil services staff we have who are available at all times for our kids. If they’re struggling, we encourage them to meet and talk.
SS: Some districts have made progress by not just addressing the student who made a threat but by also tackling the underlying causes of that student’s distress, whether it is bullying or some other ongoing conflict within the school. What lessons could Wausau take from those examples?
CB: We have those processes in place, as well. We work hard to make connections with all our kids to resolve their issues, whether they’re getting in fights on the playground or in bullying situations. We pride ourselves that every kid has at least one connection with an adult inside of our building who they can talk to. And if that’s not happening, then we need to fix that.
If you have an idea about something in central Wisconsin you think we should talk about on “Morning Edition,” send it to us at central@wpr.org.
