Prairie Grove children 'killed' in controversial fake school shooting safety video
LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A Prairie Grove school safety video featuring a fake school shooting suggesting that children of faculty members had been killed has many in the school district furious.
The offending video was shown to Prairie Grove teachers, receiving a poor response, school district educators told our content partner, 40/29 News.
According to staff members, the middle school principal, Shayne Taylor presented the video on Wednesday.
"He showed us a video that played somber music," Aubrey Crain, a sixth-grade teacher, said. "And it was in memoriam style that said 'On Dec. 14, 2022, a gunman entered Prairie Grove Middle School. This many people were injured, this many people were killed. Among the victims were the following,'
"And pictures of teachers' personal children, our blood children, were on the video with their names as if they died in a school shooting," Crain said.
Several teachers said that a variant of the safety video was presented to every school building except the junior high. Middle school staff reportedly walked out during the demonstration.
"They talked about several safety protocols that we aren't even provided in our building - which we've reported. Yet, they went and stole pictures off our Facebook accounts to make it seem like our kids died in a shooting. I feel unsupported and disrespected," Crain continued.
The school board called a special meeting Friday evening, which more than 50 parents and teachers attended.
The board went into executive session immediately, going into a non-public area to discuss what was described as a personnel issue.
They returned 11 minutes later, announcing that Taylor will be granted a leave of absence until his retirement on June 30, 2023 and will receive pay from personal vacation and sick days.
The board also announced that superintendent Reba Holmes will also take a leave of absence until retirement on June 30, 2023, receiving pay from her vacation and sick days.
Holmes sent an email after the meeting that thanked the faculty for her 30 years at the district.
The board announced that Pete Joenks, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, will take over as interim superintendent.
The Prairie Grove School District has more than 2,000 students. The middle school serves grades 5 and 6, which consists of more than 500 students.
Our content partner 40/29 News reached out to the school district and superintendent; however, no one was willing to speak on camera.
