SOUTH HADLEY – A threatening message found Monday afternoon by a teacher at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School prompted a police presence at the school Tuesday morning.
PVPA Head of School Scott Goldman said the message referred to the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado during 1999, but included no names, targets, or other information to suggest it was an active threat. The message was found on a graphing calculator used in math classes, he said.
“No one was treating this as an active threat or we would have closed school for the day,” Goldman said Tuesday. “The school administration is continuing to investigate who may be responsible and hopefully we will identify the individual.”
Goldman said he sent an email and recorded message to parents and families early Monday night alerting them about the incident. He said the vast majority of the school’s students came to school Tuesday, though some stayed home. The opening of the building was delayed while police searched and secured it, but classes started on time, he said.
Goldman said he sent another message about noon Tuesday updating the school community about the situation.
South Hadley police were joined at the school early Tuesday by members of the Massachusetts State Police and South Hadley Fire District 1.
“They had found a message at the school that was troubling to them and requested our assistance,” South Hadley Police Chief Steven Parentela, who described the threatening message as “vague and indirect,” said.
Parentela said police arrived at the school about 7 a.m., secured the school and monitored students as they made their way to classes. A police officer and firefighter were expected to remain at the school throughout Tuesday, he said.
“It was a completely measured response today to the threat,” Parentela said. “They (school officials) were helpful and we were there to help them.”
Said Goldman: “We took some precautions and made sure everybody knew what was happening. We’re having a fairly typical day at PVPA.”
PVPA is a public charter school at 15 Mulligan Drive. The school serves 400 students in grades 7 to 12 from more than 60 communities throughout western Massachusetts.
Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.