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Pranks Not Funny to School Officials

Posted on: Saturday, 20 May 2006, 12:02 CDT

By Roselee Papandrea, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.

May 20--There's only three weeks left of school, and officials with Onslow County Schools want to make sure students spend that time in a classroom rather than worrying about a bomb threat.

Four bomb threats recently were called into three different schools within a 10-day period. While all were hoaxes and three students have been charged with felonies in connection to the threats, it's a trend that's caused some concern.

"We want to send a message to everyone that we take bomb threats very seriously," said Earl Taylor, spokesman for Onslow County Schools. "We have to. We will exhaust all efforts to make sure students and faculty are safe."

No bomb threats were made in the 2004-05 school year; three were made in the 2003-04 school year, Taylor said.

Students calling in a bomb threat to get out of school on a beautiful spring day or to avoid taking exams isn't anything new. Taylor remembers dealing with them from time to time when he taught at White Oak High School in the 1970s.

But since the shootings in a Columbine, Colo. high school that left 12 students and a teacher dead and 24 others injured and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, bomb threats are treated differently. Every Onslow County school has a Safe School plan that includes policies and procedures to follow in times of emergency.

A principal can't assume that when a bomb threat is called in on a beautiful day, that it's just some student with spring fever.

"It's up to every principal to evaluate the information received and determine what course of action they are going to take," said Ernie Lynch, security and safety director for Onslow County Schools. "That's a tough job in itself having to make a very quick decision that could be based on multiple types of information."

When a principal opts to evacuate the school, often students and parents panic.

"We urge parents to have faith in the school system," Lynch said. "We have plans in place."

On April 28, a 15-year-old White Oak High School student called 911 and made a bomb threat on the school. As a result, students and faculty were evacuated to the football field, and the Onslow County Sheriff's Department was called in.

Camp Lejeune's Provost Marshal's office was contacted, and its K-9 unit was brought in to search the premises. Volunteer fire departments and rescue squads were put on standby, Taylor said.

While the school and grounds were searched, many students turned on cell phones and called their parents.

"Naturally, mom and dad are going to come to the scene, and that caused a big traffic problem on Piney Green Road," Taylor said.

It also caused a nightmare for law enforcement.

"When a bomb threat is made, the whole campus becomes a crime scene," said Keba Baldwin, Safe Schools coordinator for Onslow County Schools.

By the time law enforcement cleared the scene and students were sent back to class, 400 students had been checked out by parents, Taylor said.

The 15-year-old that made the call was charged Wednesday with a making a false report concerning a destructive device, which is a felony. His name wasn't released because he's a juvenile. He was placed in a detention facility outside of Onslow County, said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.

After that first threat, principals and staff went back to their Safe School plans and made some changes.

Schools will now set up staging areas to provide information to parents because the Sheriff's Department will be blocking entrances and exits in an effort to keep the crime scene secure, Brown said.

On May 4, Swansboro High School received a bomb threat. The school was evacuated, the dogs were brought in and classes were delayed. It takes an average of two to three hours until students are allowed back in the building, Lynch said.

The morning of May 8, a bomb threat was made on Swansboro Middle School. Students were evacuated and transported by bus to the gymnasium at Swansboro High School because there was the possibility of rain, Lynch said.

After the school was searched and students were permitted to return, Swansboro High School received another bomb threat, but authorities arrested a 15-year-old Swansboro High student shortly after for the threat to the school, Taylor said.

The 15-year-old boy was charged with making a false report concerning a destructive device. A 13-year-old girl was charged with the same thing Wednesday for making the threat against the middle school. Both students were taken to detention facilities outside the county, Brown said.

Those students can face short- or long-term suspension or expulsion, according to the student handbook.

Contact Roselee Papandrea rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, ext. 238.

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Source: The Daily News

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