Mistaken alert from Ohio school tells all parents their kids are absent; school apologizes

Ohio school call tells all parents kids are absent

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — An Ohio middle school says human error caused parents to be mistakenly alerted that their fifth- and sixth-graders were absent.

A school district spokeswoman in the Columbus suburb of Reynoldsburg says parents were “understandably upset” after being alarmed unnecessarily on Thursday.

All parents at Waggoner Road Middle School received an automated call around noon that their children were missing from school. The school’s phone lines became overwhelmed with calls, and some frantic parents showed up at school.

The alert typically goes out to parents when their child is absent from school without an excuse.

District spokeswoman Tricia Moore says the mistake occurred while a staff member was being trained how to use the alert system.

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, www.dispatch.com