BC News

Update on today's bomb threat notification from Superintendent Les Loomis
Release Date: Sept. 6, 2007

Update: The following letter was sent home with students today, Sept. 6, 2007. Since the letter was photocopied and sent home, the district learned from the Bethlehem Police Department that various educational institutions across the country have received similar e-mail messages in recent days. Further, the threat received by the district did not reference Bethlehem Central specifically. The district will always err on the side of caution.

 

Sept. 6, 2007

 

Dear Parents,

This letter is to inform you about a situation district officials discovered on Wednesday night. Late that night, The Board of Education’s district e-mail address received several repetitive e-mails indicating that there was a bomb in the district, without giving any specifics about time and location. During the night, the Police Department checked each of the district’s schools, and we determined that it was safe to open school as planned on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, the district initiated safety protocols at each building. School Safety Teams were alerted, and the appropriate building sweeps were conducted, including in evacuation areas such as gymnasiums and auditoriums. These areas were checked in the event that further threats caused us to move students to them. All staff members were made aware of the situation, so that they could stay alert throughout the day. Students experienced the day as a normal day of school.

In October 1999, Governor George Pataki signed legislation making it a Class E felony for anyone to issue a false bomb threat directed toward a school in New York State. Anyone with information about who might be responsible for this threat should contact either the Bethlehem Police Department or a school administrator. We will be working with the police to pursue this matter in every possible way.

The safety of our students is always our first concern, and all threats, no matter how vague, will be addressed and investigated. Always in these circumstances, we seek to balance taking all prudent steps for school safety while not being prevented from delivering the education that our students deserve and our community expects.

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Leslie G. Loomis
Superintendent