Ames school administrators and community officials fielded questions and concerns from parents and students during a school violence forum held Wednesday night in the Ames High School gymnasium.

“You might not know this, but my life is in your hands,” Ames High junior Jessica Lescaleet said to panel members. “Don’t take this lightly. Whether it’s a prank or not, it’s my life.”

Lescaleet was not the only person at the forum who was unhappy with Ames High’s treatment of a bomb threat the school received Wednesday morning, which resulted in the school to be evacuated.

Several people, most of whom were parents of Ames High students, had questions, complaints and stories for the panel related to how the school handled the threat.

Bob Selby, panel member and Ames Police school resource officer, replied to some of the criticism.

“We did everything we could with the tools that we had, and no, it was not perfect,” he said. “As we develop our procedures, we’ll use a lot of the things we learned this morning.”

A few people asked why the school wasn’t evacuated immediately after the bomb threat was called in.

Loras Jaeger, panel member and director of the Department of Public Safety, said none of the recent school shootings around the country were preceded by call-in threats.

“You’ve got to ask, ‘What is the purpose of the threat?'” he said. “You have to remember, in Jonesboro, Ark., the fire alarm was pulled, and everyone went outside, and three people were shot.”

W. Ray Richardson, deputy superintendent of Ames Community Schools, served as the panel chairman for the forum. He said regardless of how many plans the school implements, it could never be completely safe.

“Part of the problem in our society, no matter what plan we put forth, there are going to be individuals who try to beat that,” he said.

An audience member suggested the high school should use locker searches to assure students aren’t bringing in weapons.

Another said cell phones, which are considered drug paraphernalia in the Ames Public School District, saved lives during the school shootings last week in Littleton, Colo.

Karen Youngberg, mother of two students enrolled in Ames schools, suggested a box for anonymous warnings from students who may have knowledge of potentially dangerous situations.

“I think your committees are great when it comes to talking to kids, but no one wants to be a snitch,” she said.

Chuck Achter, panel member and principal of Ames High, said the school has many measures in place to make it safer, including a monitor at the front door, hall monitors and parking lot monitors equipped with “walkie-talkies.”

“Next year, all visitors to the school will have to sign in and we’ll give them a name badge to wear,” he said.

Achter also said Ames High uses preventive measures against violence such as parent meetings, student focus groups and assemblies.

“We’re looking at student responsibility, staff responsibility and community responsibility,” he said.

John Kinley, panel member and principal of Ames Middle School, said communication with students is necessary.

“I think one of the things most important in dealing with students at the middle school is to build a rapport with those kids so they know there’s someone they can go to, someone they can trust,” he said.

Selby said listening to students is a preventive measure against violence.

“I don’t care if you’ve been a staff member at Ames High for 20 years,” he said. “If you’re a student at Ames High you know more about the atmosphere, the behaviors that go on.”