Nov 9, 2014 3 min read

The frustration being felt by parents, students, administrators and school board members over the disruption caused by the discovery of bomb threats in Jefferson-Morgan Middle/Senior High School is quite understandable.

The latest discovery was made last Thursday, the third this school year and fifth overall since last May.

While not lessening the seriousness of these threats, we are a little puzzled as to the district’s response, especially in the last three instances. Parents received automated telephone messages notifying them classes in the elementary and middle/senior high school would be dismissed early because of “unforeseen circumstances.”

An hour or two later, a second message came along, explaining the students were dismissed early as a precaution because of a bomb threat. The message said the threat was investigated by state police, nothing was found and classes would resume on a regular schedule.

Why the euphemistic “unforeseen circumstances?” Why not tell parents initially school was dismissed early because of a bomb threat? Perhaps this, and other questions, like why students were actually evacuated from the buildings last May, will be answered at a 5 p.m. meeting today of the board’s building and grounds committee.

We are hoping the district is not treating these notes as nothing more than hoaxes and it doesn’t feel urgency in removing students quickly from a potentially dangerous situation.

It also is difficult to understand the response of Lisa Mattish, the board’s president. She said the board was not privy to all the information regarding the incidents for legal reasons, because it would be the board that would have to preside at any hearing involving disciplinary action against a student.

Well, we would beg to differ.

If and when a student or students is identified as the culprit(s), it would become a matter for juvenile court, not one where the board would ponder suspension or expulsion.

Expulsion, it would seem to us, would be a given.

That brings us to the next, and perhaps most relevant, question: Who is doing what to find those responsible?

Mattish said she didn’t know all the details of Thursday’s threat, but was told all the information, including tapes from surveillance cameras, was turned over to state police, who are conducting an investigation. This underscores that this is a criminal matter, not an administrative matter to be handled by district officials.

We are certain school officials are doing all they can to find who is responsible for leaving these notes, although we do not know exactly where these notes were found.

If, as we suspect, they were left in rest rooms, then that creates a dilemma for administrators – can they be monitored every hour during the school day?

And if the notes are left elsewhere, how does surveillance capture every hallway, stairway, cafeteria or auditorium seat?

Not an easy task, indeed.

There was a time when schools were considered reliably safe places, but history has shown otherwise. That’s why we hope this is resolved sooner rather than later. As one parent said, “This is not a high school prank. When you threaten someone’s safety, that’s not a prank.”