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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Several Lake County school districts on Tuesday had heightened security measures in place following receipt the previous day of what school leaders said was determined to be a “noncredible” threat.
The threat reportedly was made on social media, with several districts in the county notified of it on Monday evening.
“Our office assessed the threat and the investigation is still ongoing. We had increased presence at Lucerne Elementary, Upper Lake High School and Kelseyville High School and will continue to maintain an increased presence,” Lauren Berlinn, spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, told Lake County News on Tuesday.
While districts reported that it was determined that the threat wasn’t credible, they nonetheless put increased safety measures in place.
On Monday evening, Lucerne Elementary and Upper Lake Unified posted messages on their respective Facebook pages about the threat and plans to have personnel from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department on their campuses.
Lakeport Unified sent out a message to families and staff at 10 p.m. Monday informing them that they had been made aware earlier in the evening “of a potential threat of school violence. The information received did not reference LUSD or any specific school within our district. We immediately reported the matter to our local law enforcement partners for review. After assessing the information, law enforcement has determined that the threat is not credible.”
That message from Superintendent Matt Bullard, posted on the district’s Facebook page on Tuesday morning, said, “Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an increased law enforcement presence on and around our campuses” that day.
Bullard asked anyone with information to contact the Lakeport Police Department.
He told Lake County News that he found out about the threat shortly after 8:30 p.m. Monday and that a staff member saw it on social media.
On Tuesday morning, Kelseyville Unified also posted on social media about receiving information about the threat.
Later on Tuesday, all of the districts reported that there had been no issues at school on Tuesday in connection to the matter.
In Facebook updates that appeared identical, Lucerne and Upper Lake thanked parents and community members who brought forward information to help the investigation.
Konocti Unified Superintendent Dr. Becky Salato told Lake County News that they didn’t have any issues on their campuses, and that she’d sent out a parent letter early Tuesday morning, adding, “student and staff safety is always our highest priority.”
Salato said Konocti Unified has two school resource officers – both through a contract with the Clearlake Police Department – who were very visible all day on campuses.
She added, “Clearlake Police did a great job of patrolling around our sites to show a strong presence, to help parents feel better. Attendance was a tiny bit lower than usual, as we expected it may be, but not drastically.”
Attendance is always a concern for schools, and on Monday parents had posted comments on social media indicating some were keeping their children at home on Tuesday.
In a Tuesday evening update on the Kelseyville Unified website and Facebook page, Superintendent Dr. Nicki Thomas said that any time the district receives a threat, they take it seriously.
“We have a close working relationship with local law enforcement, and we share threat information with them. Their process is to immediately investigate the nature of the threat and whether it appears believable. If they think students may possibly be at risk, they work with us to create a strong law enforcement presence on our campuses or we cancel school – whichever they recommend,” Thomas wrote.
“So, when we say we are confident that a threat is not credible, that confidence is coming from well-trained local law enforcement personnel who care about safeguarding local kids and staff. Our students and teachers are their friends, neighbors and families. They always err on the side of caution,” she said.
While the threat was deemed “not credible,” Thomas noted, “Many families chose to keep their students at home anyway, and that's fine. I just wanted to remind everyone that we will only keep schools open when we have every reason to believe it's safe.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
