Mistake message from school panics parents

By: Sara Dorsey

Samantha Amphay, Concerned Mother

I know my child and for her not to be at school, it scared me.

Everyday Samantha Amphay's daughter, Tristen, rides her bike to Ippolito Elementary School.

Imagine her concern, and that of hundreds of other parents like Tasha Smith, when the school's automated message system, IRIS, called nearly five hours after class started.

Tasha Smith, Concerned Mother

It was a recording saying that your child was marked absent today please call the attendance office.

Samantha Amphay, Concerned Mother

I, of course, immediately called the school. I dialed probably around 40 times with a busy signal.

According to school officials the message was supposed to go out to a handful of parents, but instead, went to hundreds, resulting in a flood of calls and concerned parents rushing to the school to find their apparently missing children.

Samantha Amphay, Concerned Mother

I was very upset and trying to compose myself to drive and I got here as quick as I could

Tasha Smith, Concerned Mother

I'm like fidgeting in my car looking for them to wave at me when I got there.

School officials say to avoid this type of mistake from happening again they won't use the automated system to inform parents of absenteeism

Steve Hegarty, Hillsborough County Schools Spokesman

If you send it out to your entire school that's one thing. It works very, very well. Send it out just to 12 or 18, however many kids you have absent that day, that's a little bit different; and that's where we had the mistake today.

All the kids are accounted for and the school sent out an updated message, but both moms think the school needs to take extra precautions, test itself, to avoid another similar scare.

Tasha Smith, Concerned Mother

If they are going to send out mass messages they have to make sure those messages are right.

School officials say it's not clear if this was a computer glitch or human error but they are apologizing to parents.