Police were keeping a close eye on two Scarborough schools, and staff members were on heightened security alert for three days in the past week, after a Scarborough family was threatened by a Biddeford man.

The alert was lifted Tuesday, after the man, who has moved to Rhode Island, was determined no longer to be a threat.

According to Scarborough police and a family member who did not want to be named publicly, Thomas Vespia, a Rhode Island native, was living in a Biddeford building owned by the Scarborough family.

He was living there for free while working for the family’s business as a welding subcontractor. Vespia did not come to work for weeks and was recently moved out of the building and his possessions were brought to the Biddeford Police Department, according to the family member.

A family member said that once Vespia retrieved his items from the Biddeford police he made threats against the family, which includes a student at Scarborough High School and one at Wentworth Intermediate School.

After being notified about the threats the family took out a protection order against Vespia and moved into a motel for a night until police had made contact with him.

“You had to watch your every step,” the family member said.

The threats were reported to the Scarborough police on the afternoon of Nov. 9, and the following day the schools were put on heightened security alert.

The Biddeford and Scarborough police departments as well as police in Rhode Island worked together to locate Vespia, who is now living in Rhode Island. By Tuesday afternoon Biddeford policee had contacted police in Rhode Island and determined the threat was over.

Biddeford police spokeswoman Jo Anne Fisk could not provide specific details on the incident since it remains under investigation and charges may be pending.

“We feel confident he is no longer a threat,” she said.

The family member was relieved to learn that the threat was averted, but said that it will always remain in the back of his mind.

“You just don’t know, we still just don’t know,” he said.

During the three-day heightened security period the high school and middle school made some changes to their normal routines and continued employing normal security measures.

High School Principal Andrew Dolloff said the changes at his school during the period were not very obvious and he suspected that many students did not notice them.

Dolloff said school staff were doing everything they normally do, but were being more cautious. For example, while performing routine perimeter walks around the building staff members were especially conscious to ensure that all doors are locked. Normally, every door in the building is locked except for the main entrance, though due to construction some may remain open, Dolloff said.

As part of the new construction an automatic locking system was installed at the front office that will lock all doors with a push of a button, Dolloff said. This system was tested as well.

The school also passed out photographs of Vespia so staff could identify him if he did enter the grounds. Local police also took a more visible presence at the school and on Thursday and Monday a cruiser was parked in front of the building.

“I really think our approach all the time with a situation like this is to remain calm and rational,” Dolloff said.

Wentworth Intermediate School Principal Anne Mayre Dexter also used her crisis plan on Thursday morning after receiving information about the threats.

“Obviously my job is to keep the kids safe,” she said. “My main concern was to assess from our children’s standpoint what is the level of threat or concern.”

For Dexter, the changes were a bit different. She did not allow students to go to outside recess on Thursday, Monday or Tuesday. She also brought te bus pickup area closer to her office so she could watch children getting on and off the bus.

She had regular contact with Scarborough police to keep up to date on any changes in the situation and on Tuesday afternoon was told the threat had been eliminated.

“At this point they have deemed he’s no longer a threat,” she said.

However, Dexter stressed that the school was not in “lockdown.” She said a lockdown is when all doors to the building are locked and no one is allowed to enter or exit. Also staff and students remain wherever they are until the lockdown is lifted, she said.

During the three days of heightened alert, people were able to freely enter and exit the building, and students and staff proceeded normally around the building.

Dexter said that the heightened alert status was simply to ensure that most of the everyday security procedures were followed closely. For example, all staff members wore their badges and the policy requiring visitors to wear visitor badges was enforced more strictly: People not wearing badges were sent to the office to get one.

On Thursday Dexter said children were wondering why they could not go outside for recess and she told them that there had been a problem at the playground.

“We couldn’t say anything else,” she said.

She sent home a letter on Thursday explaining to parents the situation, but due to confidentiality could not provide specific details on the incident. She sent another letter on Tuesday notifying parents that the heightened security status had been lifted, but said she would have done so anyway to provide parents with further information on the problem.

On Monday students came in with some more questions and rumors began to circulate about why the security procedures were in place. Dexter said she spent part of the day visiting with students to try to quell the rumors.

Several parents called the school this week asking if it was safe for the children and Dexter said the school had to be cautious, but no one was in any immediate danger.

“The majority of families that called in were respectful of the situation. … And understood we couldn’t go further,” Dexter said.

A Scarborough police cruiser parked in front of the high school on Monday afternoon.