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Still, some parents kept their kids home from school on Wednesday after learning about the arrest of 40-year-old Brandon Dean Johnson and the guns, ammunition and ballistic vest police seized from his home on South Main Street in Drexel.

Attendance dropped slightly at Drexel Elementary School on Wednesday, the day after parents were notified of the investigation and arrest.

“I don’t feel like it was handled the right way,� said Keely Pritchard, a mother who has students at Drexel Elementary, Heritage Middle and Draughn High schools. “Considering that they went into the man’s house on Monday around 2:30 and that’s the same time kids are getting out of school, kids are outside playing on playgrounds at that time, and the school didn’t even know that it was happening.�

Johnson’s home is less than half a mile from Drexel Elementary and Hallyburton Academy.

Karen Auton, deputy superintendent of Burke County Public Schools, said messages were sent to parents about the investigation with as much detail as the school district could release within about 20 minutes of getting the OK from law enforcement. School officials did not learn about the investigation, which culminated in an arrest Monday, until Tuesday morning, March 25.

“We’re trying to be as transparent as possible without compromising any law enforcement business or investigations,� Auton said. “We just want parents to know that the safety of their children is our top priority. Dr. Sain and I both have children in Burke County schools, so we have a vested interest in making sure that all of our campuses are safe and secure. So does Dr. Swan, he has a daughter in school, too, so we can empathize with the frustration and the anxieties that come along with it.�

Pritchard sent her middle school and high school students back to class Wednesday, but she said she didn’t feel safe sending her elementary school students back to school.

“I just feel like until the schools come out and tell us how they’re making Drexel safer, especially Drexel, it’s not appropriate to send a kid back to school there,� Pritchard said. “Because, to be honest with you, Drexel is probably one of the most unsafe elementary schools.�

Pritchard said she thinks the school needs to have better fencing around the property and more police on the property.

Dillon Sain, director of student and family services for Burke County Public Schools, said the district heightened security, increased patrols and had officers in the area after learning of the investigation on Tuesday.

“When we visit campuses, we’re always thinking of the what ifs and looking with fresh eyes of, ‘Hey, this might be a problem to address,’� Sain said. “We’re always thinking and looking ahead of what could possibly be an issue.�

Students can report any concerns they have using the schools’ Say Something app. Teachers can use an app called Rave to report any concerns, from weather-related issues to suspicious people on campus and more.

Sain said the man who was charged with communicating a threat against one of the schools, Johnson, has been hand delivered a letter banning him from any Burke County Public Schools properties. He said Johnson’s mugshot has been distributed to each of the schools in the district with instruction to call the police immediately if he’s seen on campus.

He said all of the schools in the district recently underwent a safety audit. The audit, performed by an outside agency, gave schools advice on areas where they could improve and highlighted things they were doing right.

“We know that there’s some opportunities at every school for us to continue to get better and things we can do differently to increase safety,� Auton said. “It’s an ongoing conversation, and through that safety audit, they identify things we can do at each campus, and that’s one thing our board is going to do at their planning retreat in May, is to really prioritize those safety measures that they’ve identified.�