Pana Community Unit School Dist. No.

8
Be A Part of the Pride
14 East Main Street TELEPHONE: 217-562-1500
P.O. Box 377 FAX: 217-562-1501
Pana, IL 62557

September 24, 2019

Dear Parents and Guardians:

This letter is to inform you of an incident that took place yesterday at the high school in which a student made
comments of bringing a shotgun to school to carry out a shooting. The concerning comments were immediately
reported to the administration and local law enforcement officials were contacted. The student was detained
and taken into custody by the Pana Police Department.

Making comments of violence towards the school or another student(s) is a very serious offense, both at school
and with the law. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. Any student that makes a verbal comment of
school violence will be disciplined per the guidelines in the student handbook.

Based upon an immediate investigation by local law enforcement officials, it has been determined that there are
no imminent threats of violence towards the school building, students, or school personnel at this time. We
want you to know that when staff members and/or administration are made aware of any comments and/or
threat(s) that we take those reports very seriously. The safety and well-being of our students while at school is
our utmost priority.

As a reminder, sharing information about threats and safety concerns is everyone’s responsibility: students,
parents/guardians, staff, and community members. When you are in doubt as to whether a statement is kidding
or serious, the responsible thing to do is tell the Principal, other responsible staff member, or law enforcement.
We are grateful to the Pana Police Department for their assistance in this manner and we encourage parents and
students to have conversations about the importance of school safety.

Sincerely,

Jason Bauer
Superintendent

Board of Education Jason Bauer, Superintendent Principals

Wilfred C. Beyers III, President Senior High, Casey Adam
Doug Kirkbride, Vice President Assistant Principal, Heath Strom
Craig Deere, Secretary Junior High, Juletta Ellis
Anne Dorn Lincoln, Kelly Millburg
Kyle Anderson Washington, Cheri Wysong
Mark Beyers
James Moon Gary Ade – Athletic Director