Aptos principal addresses parent concerns amid investigation into gun on campus

Aptos High School’s principal on Tuesday discussed safety measures and parent concerns after a gun and bullets were found on the school’s campus days earlier. 

Lisa Lansdale offered no new information about the ongoing investigation to the roughly 16 parents who gathered for an evening meeting of the school’s booster club. She acknowledged parents’ anxiety and frustration. 

The principal said there are conversations occurring and “collaborative information” being shared between law enforcement and the superintendent’s office. But the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office decides what to share with the public. 

“I’ve spent a good part of the last few days responding to emails and phone calls about people who are just worried and scared and want more information, and I wish more than ever that I had some answers to give,” Lansdale said. 

She spoke to a group of parents who joined in person and online for a regularly scheduled meeting of the Aptos Mariners Booster Club, a fundraising organization that supports the school’s academics and extracurriculars, like a PTA. Neither staff with Pajaro Valley United School District or the sheriff’s office were present.

Some Aptos High students were absent on Tuesday, and “rightly so,” Lansdale said.  

One parent asked if their student could attend classes virtually until the sheriff’s office finishes its investigation. Lansdale said that wasn’t possible. 

“At this point, we do not have that capacity to switch to online learning, or the resources,” the principal said. “Hopefully we get this resolved really quickly. I know that they’re working as hard as they can, their investigations team, so hopefully it gets resolved really rapidly.”

Aptos High’s school resource officer, Paul Lopez, who was not present at the meeting, patrolled the campus again on Tuesday morning, she said. She added that she got to the school at 6 a.m. and searched the grounds with a flashlight. 

The school had a heavy police presence to make people feel “extra safe,” with officers walking through campus and stationed by the entrances, Lansdale said. The school also brought in 30 volunteer staff from Pajaro Valley United School District, who spread out all over campus. 

“There was practically no place you could go that did not have somebody, two people standing there helping, which I think brought some comfort to students,” she said.

Lansdale said she first learned about the gun when sheriff’s deputies called her Sunday morning as they were investigating the campus, she said. Lansdale referenced Mike Perez, an Aptos resident who claims to have found the gun, as the person who reported it to police. The county sheriff’s office sent in many units that day and performed two complete searches of the 40-acre, 10-building campus, including every trail and room, she said. 

Shannon Candelario, president of the Aptos High booster club, said police from Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scott Valley and Watsonville are assisting with the investigation.

In response to a parent’s request for more school safety updates, Candelario said that over 80% of parents have opted out of email and text messages from the principal, which Lansdale confirmed. 

Lansdale said despite sending out many alerts regarding this incident, she has received angry messages from parents who say that they are not receiving them, which she described as a “huge issue.” 

One mother who attended via Zoom asked if the school could host a forum with parents to open up communication and give people some “peace of mind.” 

“The frustration that most parents have is that every time there’s been an incident before, we’re always told, ‘Oh, cops aren’t going to tell you, blah, blah, blah, we’ll find out later,’ and then we never find out later, who, why, when, where, what,” another mom said. 

Lansdale said campus security as her passion, and said that upon starting as principal last August, she reevaluated the campus’ safety response plan to make it as efficient and smart as possible. She partnered with a school safety expert with a military background who drove around the campus with her on a cart to inspect the landscape, she said. 

Lansdale said the school is also reorganizing its evacuation map, creating three gathering points to expedite the process. She said she wants to put survival preparedness kits in each building to make self-contained “safe havens.” Staff are also thinking about how to safely release students back to parents in future emergencies, she said. 

Lansdale also said she supports adding more security cameras to campus, and discussed the possibility of adding a portable cell tower to campus in response to concerns of spotty cell signals. There were plans for a new cell tower near the school, but the facility was apparently never installed, parents and club members said. 

“We’re just trying to look at every little aspect of safety that we can to make sure it’s as efficient as possible, while sharing as much information as we can,” Lansdale said. 

Misty Navarro, an Aptos parent and a trustee on the Pajaro Valley school board, chimed in to support Lansdale and caution parents against speculating about the situation. She emphasized that more details simply cannot be shared at this time.

“I understand the need for transparency, and I understand how parents are feeling, and if I wasn’t on this side of things, I would feel the exact same way,” Navarro said.

Candelario also expressed her appreciation for Lansdale and said the principal has taken ownership of campus security since she began her role. She also praised Lopez, the school’s SRO, who is on site every school day, as one of the best in the county.  

“He has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening with the kids that are — I’m going to use air quotes — ‘troubled,’ and he does everything he can, along with our security team to make sure that those kids are seen,” Candelario said.

Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.