UPDATE @ 10:45 p.m. (Aug. 22):
A 16-year-old Oakwood High School student could be expelled from school for a Snapchat post the Oakwood Public Safety Department determined was not a direct threat.
The teen received a 10-day suspension, but that’s not all he faces.
“They recommended expulsion for the year, well, 80 days,” the teen’s father Charles Jarrett told News Center 7’s Monica Castro.
The teenager posted the statement ‘You aren't even prepared for tomorrow’ to Snapchat, accompanied by a close-up photo of him wearing a (hair)do-rag and sunglasses.
>> Oakwood schools, police investigate report of threat
Jarrett said his son was referring to his outfit, but the district sees it as “inciting a bomb threat, cyberbullying, intimidating others and a threatening image,” Jarrett said, referencing the letter that recommended expulsion.
Jarrett admitted his son doesn’t have a perfect record. Oakwood officers investigated a threat he made to shoot up the school in 2018.
“The first incident was, he did say something moronic. It was a threat and he deserved the punishment he received.He was expelled for the entire last school season,” Jarrett said.
While attending the Miami Valley Career Technology Center, Jarrett said his son did everything he was told to make up for his mistake, and achieved a B average.
Now, he said his son’s past is haunting him.
“The principal never met with him, never asked him any questions. There was nothing. He had no due process. He didn’t have a chance,” Jarrett said.
Troy Schools Superintendent Chris Piper said that when a student returns from suspension or expulsion following incidents, such as a threat, the district has a protocol.
“When they return, they’re required to sit down with a school administrator and walk through whatever the threat was. there’s a plan put together by that team to help the student transition back to school. It’s up to us to support and monitor that student moving forward,” he said.
Jarrett said he accepts the 10-day suspension, but plans to appeal the expulsion recommendation.
“If I don’t fight for him, it’s obvious the school’s not fighting for him. No one is giving him any chance whatsoever,” he said.
Earlier this week, Oakwood Superintendent Kyle Ramey said it takes all threats seriously.
FIRST REPORT (Aug. 19):
The parents of a 16-year-old Oakwood High School student said they are confused as to why their son won't be allowed to return to classes after police were called nearly a week ago to investigate a posting on social media school officials called a "non-specific threat."
>> Oakwood schools, police investigate report of threat
The teenager posted the statement ‘You aren't even prepared for tomorrow’ to Snapchat, accompanied by a close-up photo of him wearing a (hair)do-rag and sunglasses.
The Oakwood Public Safety Department investigated. They determined no violence or threat of violence was mentioned. The department is not pursuing charges.
Robin and Charles Jarrett said they intend to bring their son to school Tuesday morning — despite being told “he will not thrive at their school,” Charles Jarrett told News Center 7’s Monica Castro on Monday night.
The Jarretts wanted the opportunity to state their side of the story.
“There’s nothing wrong there” as far as a threat, Charles Jarrett said. The boy was trying to quote the Boy Scouts in reference to the clothes we was going to wear the next day, Charles Jarrett said.
“If there was some kind of punishment -- that’d be one thing,” he said. “But to be told you’re not welcome back at all...”
The teen’s mother said, “Everything’s been blown out of proportion.... He doesn’t have any disciplinary action against him. He hasn’t been expelled. He hasn’t been suspended.”
They were asked about a May 2018 visit by Oakwood police to same address connected to the Snapchat incident to investigate threats a teenager made to “shoot the (expletive) school up.”
“There’s no record of anything,” Robin Jarrett said.
“Nothing correlates in that manner,” Charles Jarrett said of the two incidents. “They're not even remotely the same.
“He’s trying to do better, he’s trying to improve,” the father said. “But they’re [the school] not giving him the chance to.”
Monday night, Oakwood Schools Superintendent Dr. Kyle Ramey issued the following statement:
“We stand by our decision to take what we believed were necessary precautions to protect our students, staff and community. In the current climate, we must take all threats and potential threats seriously to ease the concerns of our community. Student and staff safety is and will remain our first priority.”