After two recent incidents threatened the well-being of Cape Elizabeth students, school and public safety officials say their goal now is not just to improve security at the schools, but also to improve how threats to students are communicated to parents and the public.

The School Board met informally March 22 to allow board members and parents to ask questions of school and public safety officials, a move Elizabeth Scifres, board chairwoman, felt was the appropriate response to the security incidents at the schools.

She said the workshop was designed to give those concerned a chance to “get further clarity, ask questions and hear about what new measures may have already been put in place as well as those that might be on the horizon.”

The board plans to meet again Tuesday, April 12, to further discuss upgrading school safety.

The first incident, which took place March 16, involved an unwanted intruder, who was eventually arrested on charges of trespassing and possession of drug paraphernalia. The second was an automated bomb threat called in March 22 to Pond Cove Elementary School’s front office. It led to the evacuation of both elementary and middle school students, who are in the same complex.

The students were taken to the high school where everyone was eventually sent home early after being released directly into the custody of their parents.

The evacuation of the students was designed to keep them safe while police, with bomb-sniffing dogs, thoroughly searched both schools.

The bomb threat also occurred less than a week after a Cape graduate ending up illicitly entering all three of the town’s schools.

On March 16, both Pond Cove and the middle school were locked down after Nathanael Lavallee, 25, of 11 Philip Road, Cape Elizabeth, made students and staff uncomfortable. Lavallee also made an appearance at the high school that morning. He was arrested at the middle school by Sgt. Kevin Kennedy.

Following last week’s School Board workshop, Cape Elizabeth Police Chief Neil Williams said the two incidents were not related and that the bomb threat is still being investigated, with authorities trying to trace the phone call.

Although both Superintendent of Schools Meredith Nadeau and Scifres reached out to the public last week, several parents at the March 22 workshop told School Board members that the information sent out was insufficient.

“I think the communication for last week’s event was lousy,” Jennifer Pollick said.

While Nadeau said the School Department is looking into how it can better use its website and social media to disseminate information, she also said what could be communicated depends on the type and seriousness of the incident.

She said sometimes it’s just not possible to divulge a lot of information right away.

“We gauge our communications (based on) the situation we’re dealing with,” Nadeau said. “But our first priority in any situation is the safety of the children” while acknowledging that it’s a “difficult balance to strike.”

Nadeau sent an email to parents March 21 explaining why it took “so long” for school officials to communicate with parents about the school intrusions on March 16.

In that email, she said the School Department’s overall goal was to “provide general information to families about the nature of the incident and to communicate that everyone was safe.”

School Board member John Voltz suggested at the workshop that one way to handle such situations going forward would be to provide parents with more guidance, so they know what to do or where to look for updates on what’s happening.

While discussing the trespassing incident, parent Ken Brown said he’s thinking of removing his daughter from Pond Cove, and argued that school staff need to be better trained for emergency situations.

“Did they do their jobs? Yes,” he said. “Was there more luck than skill? You can go back and forth on that.”

Pollick agreed and said, “I think they fumbled last week and got lucky. We should be grateful for Nathanael Lavallee because he opened our eyes to some serious security issues.”

Greg Marles, the school facilities manager, said at the workshop that the School Department is always looking at improving and replacing doors, for added security, but revealed that Lavallee entered the middle school by breaking in through a new door that suffered a “mechanical failure.”

And while Nadeau accepted the School Department’s ultimate responsibility for keeping students safe, she also said it’s up to parents and students to take charge, as well.

“See something, say something,” she advised.

That’s in fact what happened on the morning of March 16, according to Williams, who said two people called 911 expressing concerns about Lavallee.

Both were neighbors of Lavallee, who told police he had approached them to say he was going to the schools, Williams said. Initially, police found Lavallee walking along Route 77, but he said he was going to a convenience store.

At that point, Williams said, the police officers had no reason to take any further action.

While there was a lot of concern about Lavallee’s intrusion into the schools, parents at the School Board workshop felt the bomb threat incident was handled well.

“I was in the schools today when it happened, and I can say the response was excellent,” Anna Redding said.

Some parents, as well as School Board members, said many of the children didn’t even realize there was a bomb threat, with most thinking it was a fire drill.

Pollick said that while it was smart to remove the children from the schools, it was dangerous to tell the public where the students were sent.

“They shouldn’t tell the world the procedure for a bomb threat,” she said. “It’s insane to let everyone know the procedures.”

While the public was allowed to attend last week’s school safety workshop, Nadeau said the April 12 meeting will be held behind closed doors because there is a need to keep updated security measures “classified.”

Sun Media Wire staff writer Kate Irish Collins contributed to this report.