Dear Minisink Valley parent/guardians:

Last evening, April 21, a gun part was discovered in the Middle School library by staff while cleaning the building.

The staff person appropriately gave it to a member of our administrative team who was on site at the end of last evening’s Board of Education meeting. The administrator called local State Troopers for assistance and guidance.

With the assistance of law enforcement, we have initiated an investigation with the hope of determining how this item was brought into the library.

During the overnight hours, our law enforcement partners brought specially trained dogs into the middle school to do a thorough search of all parts of the building. The middle school has been fully cleared and classes will be held as usual.

In the interest of transparency, we wanted to alert you about last evening’s finding.

At the same time, we want to assure you that all proper steps were followed in the reporting of this finding. Our staff is well-trained and did the right thing. When this item was found, it was immediately reported.

The middle school building remains safe, secure and open for school for today, April 22. At our request, and out of abundance of caution, there will be an added police presence on campus today. We remain grateful to our law enforcement partners for their rapid assistance and support.

As I always stress, the safety and security of our students and staff remain our highest priority at all times. We appreciate your continued support as our partners in school safety.

Sincerely,

Brian C. Monahan
Superintendent