Avery Cook, Zach Isaacson
eSomethin Staff
Wednesday during second period, principal Michael Short made an unanticipated announcement that Perrysburg High School would perform an immediate lockdown drill. He instructed students to stay in their classrooms until notified otherwise.
Short announced the drill’s conclusion almost 50 minutes later at the end of the period.
Students went to third period as normal soon after the drill’s conclusion, but rumors of a drug search that included drug dogs and police officers began to stir. Using drug dogs for searches and drills inside the school is not a new occurrence.
eSomethin confirmed that during the time of the lockdown, roughly 7-10 police officers from various agencies inspected the school halls alongside three drug-searching dogs.
Students may wonder why this Wednesday, of all days, brought a drug search with dogs, or if it was a “drill” or not.
Assistant Principal Dave Dakolios stated, “It was a lockdown drill, but the drill was for the purpose of us bringing the dogs through.” The drill was a way to get students into classrooms so that the dogs would be able to do their job without distraction.
As for the timing of the drill, it was based around the availability of the Perrysburg police, according to school resource officer Greg Cole.
Police look for street drugs and unauthorized over-the-counter medications students sometimes carry without documented permission from school nurse Debbie Reddick. Being caught with these common meds was what some students feared throughout the drill.
Later that day, Dr. Short sent out an email to parents and guardians of students notifying them that the school participated in the lockdown drill.
Short’s statement reads, “Dear parents and guardians, you may have heard that we conducted a lockdown drill today. We are required by law to conduct a variety of drills and this satisfied one of those requirements. All of our students and staff were very accommodating and helped us complete this drill in a timely fashion. Thanks for our support in keeping all of our school community safe. Go Jackets!”
The message did not mention the drug search or police dogs in the building, which is odd considering they notified them about the lockdown. However, the school must keep pre-planned drills secret in order for the searches to be effective. Transparency is equally essential to keep parents and guardians informed about what occurs at the school.
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