‘I was very shocked’: Parents question security after former student gets into lunchroom, preaches to students

By Sarah Fili

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — Millard Public Schools said it will review its procedures for visitors after an incident in the lunchroom at Millard South.

The principal told families he was allowed inside to pick up old transcripts.

Now parents want to know why he was allowed to roam through the school.

Jesica Rand’s daughter is a senior at Millard South. She found out from a video online that a man had entered the school and began preaching to students.

“I was very shocked that some random person was in the middle of the school in the middle of the day. Like, how did he get in?” she said.

Millard Public Schools emailed parents that it was a former student who had come back for transcripts and on his way out stopped in the cafeteria. Rand said when she graduated, she too had to go back for her transcripts.

“I had to go to the admin building. So why was he even in the building in the first place? Why was he not escorted the rest of the way?” Rand said.

The district says it is considering changes:

“We are reviewing our procedures for visitors who need to access the school beyond the front office. Going forward, some business matters will be transferred to the front office or conducted electronically or by mail. I understand the concern, especially in light of what happened in Tennessee yesterday. School security is at the top of everyone’s minds. We are not giving an on camera interview because we do not speak about the specifics of school security. That can compromise the processes and procedures we have in place. We can share additional information about what occurred yesterday, what we are doing about it, and how we are going to use this incident to get better. The meetings to review the situation began within the hour of it occurring. We take this seriously. The matter is being reviewed at both the school and district level. Conversations have been conducted with all staff involved. Additionally, we always follow through with all legal avenues for anyone who breaches security. This includes being barred from the school premises and working with local law enforcement. The school’s administration has also reached out to staff and families directly. Above all, we want students and staff, and all of our families, to feel school is a safe place. We have many layers of security in place, and we will learn from this situation to add additional layers of safety.”

Rand said the man could have used transcripts as a ruse, she’s thankful the situation didn’t end with violence.

“That’s pretty crazy. Especially with what had just happened yesterday. I mean, that’s kind of the scary part,” she said.

Administrators escorted the man out. He was not arrested.

“There was no repercussions of doing that. And it kind of shows anyone else that, you know, if they do something similar, that they’re not going to face any consequences,” said Mikaylah Rand, a senior at Millard South.

She was in kindergarten when a student shot and killed an administrator at Millard South. Now, she goes there. She said class resumed Tuesday as if nothing happened.

“I honestly feel a little desensitized to it. We’ve been having these drills and stuff since I started school,” she said.

As noted, the district would not provide anyone for an interview. KETV NewsWatch 7 reached out to each elected Millard Public School board member. Only one responded, declining to comment. Later in the day, the same district spokesperson emailed to inform KETV the board members had forwarded our requests, would not be commenting and again sent the district’s statement.

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