CV Sets Up Student Safety Hotline

Parents and students in the Central Valley School District can now call in concerns about student safety by leaving an anonymous message on a hotline.

The hotline number is 323-5055. Messages left at this phone number will be transcribed and sent to the appropriate school principal and other officials.

Messages will be retrieved only during business hours.

The decision to install a hotline stemmed from Central Valley officials’ talks after the Colorado school shootings.

In that tragedy and other school shootings across the nation, students and others have noted afterwards that they saw warning signs. The hotline is an attempt to make it easier for parents and students to pass on such concerns.

Parents or other community members also can call principals directly, without necessarily leaving their name, pointed out Central Valley spokesman Skip Bonuccelli.

“People can talk to the principals anonymously. In a way, that’s the best, because then the principals can ask more germane questions,” Bonuccelli said.

The district has also provided an e-mail address for parents and students to report concerns. The address is: tellsomeone@cvsd.org

“In other words what we’re trying to do is broaden people’s ability to leave information. All these things are possible steps toward higher awareness for safety,” Bonuccelli said.

Spokane School District 81 has recently installed a hotline. East Valley School District officials have discussed such a hotline, but have not yet decided whether to install one. West Valley officials discussed the idea of a hotline at a parents safety meeting earlier this week.