MONROE - The first threat that forced an evacuation at Monroe High School on Thursday, March 26, said a bomb would explode in one week. But Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said it didn't necessarily mean April 2.
"It didn't say Thursday exactly," Kelley said. "It said one week."
Kelley said the threat was not prominently displayed on the bathroom wall where it was found, and was difficult to see. It also was written lightly and that, too, made it difficult to see.
Nevertheless, increased security measures are planned in the Monroe school district for Thursday, Superintendent Larry Brown said.
There have been no new threats in the wake of three school evacuations over the past week.
In response to the first note found at the high school, Brown said the threat referred to a period of time, but not a specific date of another threat.
"We've heightened our security and our awareness," Brown said.
Some parents have said they plan to keep their children home from school Thursday. Some students also have said they were scared and planned to stay home from school.
This comes in the wake of three evacuations - at Monroe High School on Monday and March 26, and at Monroe Middle School on Tuesday - within four school days.
Brown wouldn't go into details as to what was specifically written in any of the threats and wouldn't elaborate as to what extra security measures would be taken.
"Part of our security measure is not to tell people what they are," Brown said. Letting the public know also would be informing the person who made the threat, he added.
Brown said the district has two ways to look at all threats.
The first is to view them as written by a student who wants out of school early or wants to disrupt the school day.
"We can't afford to look at it from that perspective," Brown said.
He said the district has to take the threats seriously. The threats could be made by someone who needs help, he said.
"We're looking for the young man or young woman who may be having issues at school or at home," Brown said. "We're not profiling anyone, but we want them to know that if they are having problems there are people here who care about them and want to help them."
If a student does have a problem, they need to understand there are people at the school they can talk to, Brown said.
As Brown and the school district try to handle the threats, it also has worked to increase communication with parents. Brown said he talked to parents for several hours Tuesday and listened to their concerns about communication. Parents expressed concern they weren't notified quickly enough about the school evacuations.
Brown said he's the person in charge to notify parents in the event of an emergency but said that after threats were made he was busy helping students evacuate from school and working with school administrators and law enforcement.
To remedy the problem, the district has discussed putting another person in charge to contact parents in the event of an emergency. Brown said two possible solutions include the Green County Sheriff's Department's Reverse 9-1-1 system, or the district could purchase a system of its own.
Anyone with information can contact the Monroe Police Department at 329-2400, the Green County Sheriff's Department at 328-9400 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 422-7463. Callers don't have to give their names and may be eligible for cash rewards.
The Monroe Middle School was evacuated at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after a school administrator found a threat written on a mirror in a bathroom.
Brown, in a posting on the school district's Web site, said a "non-specific" threat was found at the middle school
Middle school students were taken to the high school Performing Arts Center, as Monroe police searched the school building.
The students were taken back to the school at about 12:05 p.m.
"We want everyone to feel safe," Brown said.
Middle school principal Bill Van Meer didn't have attendance numbers this morning to determine if children were staying home because of Tuesday's threat, but said "everything looked about normal."
The middle school is working with the Monroe Police Department; officers are driving past the school on a regular basis, but he understands the police have limited resources, Van Meer said.
"We plan to check out the bathrooms and keep an eye on them," Van Meer said.
Brown said Tuesday the district took the threat seriously and said the district couldn't ignore it.
"In this day and age this stuff is serious. This is a safety issue," Brown said.
Two officers from the Wisconsin State Patrol, also responded to the Middle School.
This was the third threat found in a school bathroom in less than a week and the third school evacuation since Thursday.
The Monroe High School was evacuated Monday and last Thursday after threatening notes were found in separate bathrooms.
at the school. Students were evacuated to Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy.
On Thursday, March 26, a threatening message was discovered on a bathroom wall at about 10 a.m., which led to the evacuation of the high school. Monroe police searched the building, but found no suspicious material.
"It didn't say Thursday exactly," Kelley said. "It said one week."
Kelley said the threat was not prominently displayed on the bathroom wall where it was found, and was difficult to see. It also was written lightly and that, too, made it difficult to see.
Nevertheless, increased security measures are planned in the Monroe school district for Thursday, Superintendent Larry Brown said.
There have been no new threats in the wake of three school evacuations over the past week.
In response to the first note found at the high school, Brown said the threat referred to a period of time, but not a specific date of another threat.
"We've heightened our security and our awareness," Brown said.
Some parents have said they plan to keep their children home from school Thursday. Some students also have said they were scared and planned to stay home from school.
This comes in the wake of three evacuations - at Monroe High School on Monday and March 26, and at Monroe Middle School on Tuesday - within four school days.
Brown wouldn't go into details as to what was specifically written in any of the threats and wouldn't elaborate as to what extra security measures would be taken.
"Part of our security measure is not to tell people what they are," Brown said. Letting the public know also would be informing the person who made the threat, he added.
Brown said the district has two ways to look at all threats.
The first is to view them as written by a student who wants out of school early or wants to disrupt the school day.
"We can't afford to look at it from that perspective," Brown said.
He said the district has to take the threats seriously. The threats could be made by someone who needs help, he said.
"We're looking for the young man or young woman who may be having issues at school or at home," Brown said. "We're not profiling anyone, but we want them to know that if they are having problems there are people here who care about them and want to help them."
If a student does have a problem, they need to understand there are people at the school they can talk to, Brown said.
As Brown and the school district try to handle the threats, it also has worked to increase communication with parents. Brown said he talked to parents for several hours Tuesday and listened to their concerns about communication. Parents expressed concern they weren't notified quickly enough about the school evacuations.
Brown said he's the person in charge to notify parents in the event of an emergency but said that after threats were made he was busy helping students evacuate from school and working with school administrators and law enforcement.
To remedy the problem, the district has discussed putting another person in charge to contact parents in the event of an emergency. Brown said two possible solutions include the Green County Sheriff's Department's Reverse 9-1-1 system, or the district could purchase a system of its own.
Anyone with information can contact the Monroe Police Department at 329-2400, the Green County Sheriff's Department at 328-9400 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 422-7463. Callers don't have to give their names and may be eligible for cash rewards.
The Monroe Middle School was evacuated at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after a school administrator found a threat written on a mirror in a bathroom.
Brown, in a posting on the school district's Web site, said a "non-specific" threat was found at the middle school
Middle school students were taken to the high school Performing Arts Center, as Monroe police searched the school building.
The students were taken back to the school at about 12:05 p.m.
"We want everyone to feel safe," Brown said.
Middle school principal Bill Van Meer didn't have attendance numbers this morning to determine if children were staying home because of Tuesday's threat, but said "everything looked about normal."
The middle school is working with the Monroe Police Department; officers are driving past the school on a regular basis, but he understands the police have limited resources, Van Meer said.
"We plan to check out the bathrooms and keep an eye on them," Van Meer said.
Brown said Tuesday the district took the threat seriously and said the district couldn't ignore it.
"In this day and age this stuff is serious. This is a safety issue," Brown said.
Two officers from the Wisconsin State Patrol, also responded to the Middle School.
This was the third threat found in a school bathroom in less than a week and the third school evacuation since Thursday.
The Monroe High School was evacuated Monday and last Thursday after threatening notes were found in separate bathrooms.
at the school. Students were evacuated to Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy.
On Thursday, March 26, a threatening message was discovered on a bathroom wall at about 10 a.m., which led to the evacuation of the high school. Monroe police searched the building, but found no suspicious material.