Below is the text of a letter from GISD to parents and guardians of students.
The letter is in response to rampant rumors and misinformation on social media.
The Spanish translation can be found on the second page of the full document here.
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
The administration and staff of Giddings ISD regard providing a safe environment for our students as our number one priority. Our district has policies in place to deal with incidences of violence and threats of violence that take place on our campuses and within the community. We take all threats seriously and investigate when any threat or potential threat is reported.
During the past week, students at the high school were reported to be spreading rumors about students threatening violence against others. The rumors were immediately investigated. Every aspect of the investigation by GISD with cooperation from the Giddings PD failed to yield any credible evidence of a threat or a list of any kind. All information was determined to be a rumor with no credibility. Therefore, the district did not deem it necessary to issue a statement at that time. However, this rumor has continued to be repeated by students and false information has been spread by adults on social media.
The Giddings Police Department issued the following statement on their Facebook page as a result:
“There has been a lot of misinformation and rumors put out by parents and students over the
past two days about a threat at the Giddings School. It is NOT true. In fact, it has been looked
into by the school and found to be false. There is no active investigation. If you have
questions you can contact the police department or the GISD.”
We appreciate your continued support of Giddings ISD. Again, we assure you that the safety of our students is our number one priority, and we will take steps to ensure that our district continues to be a secure place for our students and staff. The District wholeheartedly believes in the Homeland Security’s slogan “If you see something, say something.” However, repeating rumors and spreading false information with no credibility only creates fear and makes it more difficult for the District to respond in these situations.
Sincerely,
GISD Administrative Team