Bomb Scare at WPHS was “inappropriate note passing” in Class, not Threat Received in Advance, Superintendent Explains. Protocol followed, Connors asserts. Student Identified by Parent.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey.  January 9, 2013 UPDATED  9:30 P.M. E.S.T:

White Plains Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors told WPCNR Thursday morning that White Plains High School absolutely did “follow protocol” in a Monday classroom incident in handling what Connors described as a spontaneous passing of a note from one student to another during a class that was in full session.

Mayor Thomas Roach of White Plains, in a statement on Mr. Roach’s Facebook page, acknowledged five hours ago that the student who passed the note in the class was his 14 year old son. Rumors to that effect had been circulated without attribution in a News 12 report Wednesday evening.

The note, according to Superintendent of Schools Connors,  read “There’s a bomb under my desk,” and was not a threat that was received in advance from outside the school. (That would have  presumably called for an evacuation and search of the building.)

Connors said the teacher in charge observed the note being passed, confiscated the note, asked the student on the spot who had passed the note,  if they had wrote it, and that the student said they had written it.

“The Principal was notified and took disciplinary action, the police were notified, they arrived and investigated, and there was no need to evacuate the school,”  Connors said.

White Plains Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong confirmed Connors statement, issuing this statement: “No evacuation, at no time was there a threat to anyone.  School is handling as strictly  a administrative matter.”

Asked if the  note-passer had been scheduled for a hearing  for disciplinary action, or had been disciplined, Connors said he does not comment on disciplinary matters. The name of the student who admitted to passing the note was not released.

Connors said “In this day and age passing a note with content of that nature is highly inappropriate and will not be tolerated.”

Connors said “This (note passing) was not a threat. There was no such thing. The teacher, principal followed protocol.”

The district does not release the names of students in such matters.

Mayor Tom Roach of White Plains posted a message on his Facebook page, announcing that his older son was the student who passed the note: Mr. Roach’s statement read:

“My 9th grade, 14 year old son exercised poor judgment by writing a note in class he intended to be funny. Clearly, it was not. No one was ever in danger and he owned up to it right away. The school punished him in accordance with their policy and we accepted their determination without question. My son is a good student who loves his teachers, his friends and his school. He regrets this incident deeply. As a family we love him even when he makes mistakes. 

He is not a public figure and we will have no further comment.”

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