Hartland Schools Increases Security After Suspicious Man Approaches Employee

While leaving Farms Intermediate School on Friday night, a Hartland Schools employee was approached by a man in a hooded sweatshirt who attempted to grab the female custodian, according to Hartland Consolidated Schools Superintendent Janet Sifferman.

The incident took place behind the school building after 11 p.m., according to Sifferman. 

“There was a male in a hooded sweatshirt,” Sifferman said. “He reached for her, he turned around and took off running- don’t know if it was a kid or adult.”

Sifferman said that the night custodians typically leave the building between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and are encouraged to exit the building using a buddy system.

Because of the late hour, Sifferman said the lights of the building were not on. 

Due to the incident, extra security measures have been put in place at the school that include leaving the lights on for an extra hour.

“So just for assurances we put the lights on longer and we are going to add another light to make it a little brighter,” she said. “But more importantly, we have cautioned them about leaving alone.”

The employee was also encouraged to file a police report, according to Sifferman.

Since there was no threat to student safety, Sifferman said parents were not notified of the incident.

“If we had felt there was an incident involving student safety we would have notified the parents,” she said. “But clearly this wasn’t an incident that involved student safety.”