Perry Central locks down after phone threat to school

Perry County Central High School went on lockdown after a phone threat, and Perry County Schools said there was no active threat on campus. District officials said a call using “voice-over technologies” was received at Perry County Central High School containing threats, triggering the security response.

The lockdown was activated at approximately 11:45 a.m., and the district said the precaution was taken as reports of threats spread across eastern Kentucky. Around the same time, Knott County Central High School and the wider Knott County district were also placed on lockdown out of caution, showing how quickly the threat disrupted more than one school system in the region.

For Perry County families, the episode fit a pattern that has forced the district to move fast before. In 2021, Perry County 911 received a call from a driver who reported seeing a suspicious person walking near Perry County Central High School. Deputies said the school locked down as a precaution, city, state and county police patrolled the area, and the person was later determined not to be a threat.

Perry Central also went into lockdown in May 2023 after a student with a handgun caused another safety response at the school. In that case, the threat to normal instruction came from inside the school day rather than outside it, underscoring how often safety procedures at Perry Central have been put to use.

Perry County Schools lists Superintendent Jonathan Jett as the district’s top administrator and gives the office address as 315 Park Avenue in Hazard, KY 41701. The district also maintains a safety page for school security information as parents, staff and students continue to weigh how the latest lockdown was handled and what lessons school officials draw from it.