Threatening letter prompts Forest Park school security review, access concerns

A threatening letter sent in early March forced Forest Park Schools to confront a basic question with wide consequences for families: how many people can still move through the building, and who is watching that access.

At the Forest Park School Board of Education’s March 23 meeting, the security discussion began with key card access and quickly widened into a review of visitor control, school safety and accountability. Superintendent Michelle Thomson said she initially believed far fewer people had access, then said the district had 111 people with access at one point. She later clarified that the total was 186 keys when emergency personnel and 24-hour access holders were included.

Thomson also said no background checks are done simply because someone has key card access, including vendors. That gap matters for parents who expect the front door, hallways and activity areas to be controlled with more than a trust-based system.

School Resource Officer Tom Mantsch of the Crystal Falls Police Department tied the discussion to the letter the school had received earlier in March. Mantsch said the note contained disturbing and rambling language, and that his investigation led him to believe the writer was a former police officer already on an FBI watch list. He used the incident to argue that schools can create danger when they have too many access points or rely too heavily on open entry.

Mantsch’s recommendations were straightforward and substantial: create a single point of entry during the school day, eliminate open 24-hour access, end public access to the weight room and strengthen staff accountability. For Forest Park parents, those changes would affect the daily rhythm of arrival, visiting and after-hours use of school facilities, all while narrowing the number of doors and spaces that must be monitored.

The review comes after Forest Park schools were also forced to cancel school and athletic contests in September 2024 because of a separate potential threat. At that time, the district contacted Crystal Falls police and the Iron County Sheriff’s Department to investigate, and a home football game had to be moved while authorities checked the threat.

Michigan’s Office of School Safety says it provides safety information, training, grant opportunities and emergency planning resources for schools, while state guidance says school safety includes protection from violence, weapons, threats, theft, bullying and illegal substances. Michigan’s Comprehensive School Safety Plan Act was enacted in 2018 and took effect March 28, 2019. For Forest Park, the latest review shows the district weighing whether its security practices match the risks its students, staff and visitors now face.