Two Wescott Junior High School students have been suspended from school and could face criminal charges in connection with a series of bomb threats at the school last week.

School staff members evacuated students and staff twice last week as school administrators along with police officers and firefighters investigated threats written on a bathroom wall at the school. School administrators allowed students back into the school once they felt it was safe.

The school did not notify parents about the threats until Friday afternoon, a decision that has upset some parents concerned about their children’s safety. School officials said they did not notify parents because they were concerned about hindering the investigation into the threats, and they were concerned that calling attention to the threats could encourage more threats.

Officials chose not to evacuate the school after finding a third note in a bathroom last Thursday because investigators believed the “threat” was just graffiti.

School Superintendent Stan Sawyer said school staff members again found some suspicious writing on a bathroom wall at the school Monday, but they decided, on the advice of police and firefighters, not to evacuate the building.

Wescott Principal Martha Corkery said Monday’s incident never rose to the level of an actual threat, and administrators decided the writing was simply graffiti on a bathroom wall. However, they called police and firefighters because it’s the school’s procedure to do so.

“It’s a process that ensures safety,” Corkery said.

In the case of all four threats, Sawyer said an investigation did not uncover any trace of an explosive device, and the threats were limited to writing on walls. Officials declined to reveal what the notes said because the case is still under investigation, and they did not want to encourage copycat threats.

Sawyer said two Wescott students had been suspended from school for 10 days in connection with the incidents last week. School officials did not release any other information about the boys who were suspended.

He said Corkery has recommended that the boys be subject to an expulsion hearing in front of the School Committee. Sawyer was not sure when the expulsion hearing would take place, but he said it could come some time next week.

Corkery said the 10-day suspension was the longest possible suspension without an expulsion hearing.

If the students are suspended, Sawyer said the school typically draws up a list of conditions for reinstatement, which can include such requirements as community service and that the student undergo counseling. Once those conditions are satisfied, Sawyer said students could petition the School Committee for reinstatement. The school is not responsible for providing any tutoring for students who are expelled, Sawyer said.

Police Capt. Tom Roth said police are still investigating the threats and working on any possible charges against the two boys. He said police have not yet interviewed them because they are waiting for the school to finish its investigation.

Roth said the suspects could possibly face felony charges of terrorizing and misdemeanor charges of filing a false public report. “We take (these cases) very seriously,” Roth said. “We continue to investigate (each instance), and where charges are appropriate, we typically go forward and press charges.”

Notification delay upsets parents

Robert Foley, who has a daughter in the seventh grade at the school, said he was angry that parents were never notified about the threats until Friday, when the school sent a note home with the students. Foley said his daughter never received a copy of the notice, and he learned about the threats after talking to his daughter. “I think it’s upsetting (that the school did not tell the parents),” he said.

In a letter published in this week’s edition of the American Journal, Ray Richardson, whose son, Tripp, is an eighth-grader at Wescott, also expressed his anger over the lack of parental notification.

Richardson said he wanted the school to notify parents on the same day a threat is discovered. “It is not the decision of any school personnel to determine whether my child is safe in their school once a threat has been made,” said Richardson. “It is my decision, and it is a decision that I cannot make if I am unaware of the occurrence of a threat.”

Sawyer said, after conferring with police, the schools decided it was not necessary to notify parents. He said he and other administrators were concerned that spreading the news of the threats would actually serve to hinder the investigation, and could lead to more false alarms.

As the news of the threats started to get out, Sawyer said school officials felt it was necessary to notify parents to let them know exactly what happened at the school, and Corkery sent a note home on Friday afternoon. “I think she felt by Thursday that so many people were talking about it, she should let the parents know,” Sawyer said.

Roth said the city and school department has a policy in place where the police and fire departments confer with the school administration regarding bomb threats in the schools, but the final decision to evacuate the school and notify parents rests with the school administration.

The final decision to evacuate does rest with the school, Sawyer said, but he added in each case last week, the school administration took action in accordance with recommendations from the police and fire departments.

Sawyer said in the case of a bomb threat against the school, he calls for a senior officer from both the police and fire departments to come to the building and assess the threat along with the superintendent and the building’s principal. “The School Department takes any type of threat very seriously,” Sawyer said. “We have very clear procedures, and in all of the cases, those procedures have been followed.”

Sawyer said he was grateful for the quick response from the police and fire departments last week. “(These threats are) taken very seriously, and I appreciate their support,” he said.

Tripp Richardson said last week’s threats did not cause a major interruption in the school day for the students. “The first day, they had a normal fire drill,” he said. “It lasted a little longer than they normally do.”

Richardson said the students were not told the reason for the fire drills last week, he only heard about the bomb threats after the fact. He said the students are not really discussing the threats among themselves, and from his point of view, life at the school is continuing on as normal. “Nothing’s really that different,” he said.

On Friday, Corkery announced that she was resigning as principal of Wescott Junior High School to take a position at the University of New England. Corkery said she had been considering the move for some time, and the timing of her resignation had nothing to do with the problems at the school.

The case remains under investigation. Roth said anyone with any information regarding the threats should call the Westbrook police at 854-0644.

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