On the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting tragedy, Monroe is not alone in coping with the aftermath of threats of violence at its schools, be the threats true or phony.
In Racine County, Union Grove School officials on Monday, April 20, allowed students back to school following a spring break that started with an extra day off due to an unintended consequence.
The fourth in an series of threats was found April 9 at the high school, which forced district officials to close school that day; all of the threats were left in a girls school bathroom, according to local media reports.
Hmm, sounds familiar.
Of course, how can those in the Monroe community forget the threats discovered between March 26 and 31 at the Middle School and High School?
All four Union Grove threats were discovered since March 7, two of them were found April 8.
A 15-year-old male student confessed to the April 9 bomb threat; two of the other messages threatened gun violence.
Who knows what makes the threat-makers feel compelled to disrupt life in such an abnormal way? Some might wonder, spring break is coming; the kid who allegedly made the most recent threat might have wanted to start a day early?
Those people would be correct.
The 15-year-old admitted he just wanted the day off, according to school officials, in a memo on the districts Web site.
The other threat-makers might have wanted a day off as the weather warms; or the kid or kids were just being goof-offs. Either way, each threat cost the district, the Racine County Sheriffs Department and Union Grove police time and money; not to mention a fair amount of stress to parents and students.
The Union Grove community appears to be banding together to find information about the threats and the culprits.
On Sunday, April 19, the Union Grove school district had a community meeting at the high school to update parents and community members on the status of the investigations into the all of the threats, while informing them of the plans to start school the next day, coming off spring break.
The community is also uniting financially.
The school district originally offered a $500 reward for credible information, but since the frequency of the threats increased a local business matched that amount, bringing the reward to $1,000.
It is nearly impossible the Union Grove and the Monroe School District scenarios are related, but both share a similarity. Disruptions caused by pranksters can be damaging to a communitys psyche, let alone the learning process at the school, even if violence doesnt actually follow the threat.
As always, take care and watch out for bicycles.
In Racine County, Union Grove School officials on Monday, April 20, allowed students back to school following a spring break that started with an extra day off due to an unintended consequence.
The fourth in an series of threats was found April 9 at the high school, which forced district officials to close school that day; all of the threats were left in a girls school bathroom, according to local media reports.
Hmm, sounds familiar.
Of course, how can those in the Monroe community forget the threats discovered between March 26 and 31 at the Middle School and High School?
All four Union Grove threats were discovered since March 7, two of them were found April 8.
A 15-year-old male student confessed to the April 9 bomb threat; two of the other messages threatened gun violence.
Who knows what makes the threat-makers feel compelled to disrupt life in such an abnormal way? Some might wonder, spring break is coming; the kid who allegedly made the most recent threat might have wanted to start a day early?
Those people would be correct.
The 15-year-old admitted he just wanted the day off, according to school officials, in a memo on the districts Web site.
The other threat-makers might have wanted a day off as the weather warms; or the kid or kids were just being goof-offs. Either way, each threat cost the district, the Racine County Sheriffs Department and Union Grove police time and money; not to mention a fair amount of stress to parents and students.
The Union Grove community appears to be banding together to find information about the threats and the culprits.
On Sunday, April 19, the Union Grove school district had a community meeting at the high school to update parents and community members on the status of the investigations into the all of the threats, while informing them of the plans to start school the next day, coming off spring break.
The community is also uniting financially.
The school district originally offered a $500 reward for credible information, but since the frequency of the threats increased a local business matched that amount, bringing the reward to $1,000.
It is nearly impossible the Union Grove and the Monroe School District scenarios are related, but both share a similarity. Disruptions caused by pranksters can be damaging to a communitys psyche, let alone the learning process at the school, even if violence doesnt actually follow the threat.
As always, take care and watch out for bicycles.
