P’ville Schools on Two-Hour Delay Wednesday After Threat Against District
The Pleasantville School District was on a two-hour delay Wednesday morning after a threat was made toward the district late Tuesday night.
A message was sent out by the district notifying parents at about 10:20 p.m. that the “potential threat” was made by a middle school student and police would investigate the matter. Superintendent of Schools Mary Fox-Alter said police determined that the threat was “not credible.” Staff operated on a normal schedule.
“Last night we received information about a verbal comment made by a middle school student that was heard by another student at the end of the school day,” Fox-Later wrote in a letter to the school district community Wednesday explaining the circumstances. “The student reported it to an adult who then reported it to the middle school administration. The student and the adult did the right thing. The exchange included concerning comments that rose to the level of a potential threat. As per our security protocols, we take reports of this nature very seriously and immediately contacted the Pleasantville Police Department. The Pleasantville Police Department started their investigation as soon as they received our call.”
Within an hour of a potential threat alert, the Pleasantville Police Department informed the district that the threat was not credible – “meaning that it did not have intent, means, or motive to be carried out,” Fox-Alter stated in her letter.
Possible threats have also been investigated at The Harvey School in Katonah, Valhalla High School and Scarsdale High School.
The Pleasantville threat comes less than two weeks after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla. that killed 17 people. It also comes after Tarrytown, Irvington, Hastings-on-Hudson, Ardsley and Dobbs Ferry schools were placed on lockdown for the entire school day on Tuesday after a fatal shooting at the Sleepy Hollow Gardens Apartment in Tarrytown.
“This event also serves as an important reminder of the mantra heard nationwide recently: ‘If you see something, say something,'” Fox-Alter remarked in her letter. “The safety and security of our students and staff will always be our first priority. Please know that we take any threat seriously, even when deemed not credible. If a student or students are involved, they will be disciplined according to the Code of Conduct.”
