WESTON, Fla. – A group of about a dozen parents decided to stand up and protest on Tuesday outside of a Broward County high school.
Claudia Salas said the protest comes amid two “lockdown” incidents that tested Cypress Bay High School’s response in Weston. Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies responded after shotgun shells turned up on campus on Tuesday and Thursday.
“My concerns basically are the safety of the children,” Salas said during the protest.
Virginia Castaneda, a parent who participated in the protest, said she is concerned that school administrators are not doing enough to stop bullying and violence.
Castaneda, Salas, and some of the other protesters decided to wear yellow T-shirts with a “fear has no place in school” message.
“The concern is we do not want to turn into another Parkland shooting. We have to make sure that all measures are taken,” Castaneda said.
The parents said the school needs metal detectors, students need clear backpacks, and administrators need to review the school’s policies and protocols.
“The lockdown issue is a major concern,” Allison Waite, a protester, said. “The lack of transparency as to what’s going on throughout these lockdowns.”
Kassandra Fried, the principal of Cypress Bay High School, delivered a message to the students on Monday morning describing the recent lockdowns as “unprecedented” and as a disruption of the learning environment that “has caused undue emotional stress and anxiety to all.”
Fried said detectives had yet to identify a suspect linked to the shotgun shells that turned up on campus. She also warned that “there is zero tolerance for those types of acts and students you must know that threats and threatening acts will lead to the maximum consequences allowed by the discipline matrix — possibly prosecution and expulsion.”