Mentor Superintendent Responds to Threats

Mentor Schools Superintendent Matthew Miller posted a letter on the district website Thursday in response to bomb threats this week at middle schools in the district.

Ridge Middle School students were evacuated Thursday following a bomb threat. Mentor Police, school officials and a bomb-sniffing canine from Geauga County Sheriff's Office searched the school and believed the threat to be a hoax.

On Tuesday, a student who is suspected of writing a threat on the wall at Memorial Middle School and causing a bomb scare was arrested and charged with inducing panic.

Here's Miller's entire letter:

Dear Middle & High School Students’ Parents and Guardians,

As you know, two hoax bomb threats have been reported at Mentor Schools’ buildings this week. These threats not only cause a major disruption to the learning process and school day, they also waste time and resources of our local law enforcement, fire and emergency officials.

With your help we would like to remind all of our students of how serious these threats are and that they will not be tolerated. Students who are caught making threats will not only face the most serious consequences possible by the school district including expulsion, but will likely face criminal charges as well. A charge of inducing panic, for example, is a second degree felony.  

As we are in this together, tomorrow morning we will make announcements at the three middle schools and the high school to repeat this message to students. I am sure you join me in feeling disappointed that this is necessary, as most of our students attend school with the desire to learn. But, we cannot stress enough that these behaviors are serious, will be punished, and must stop.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Matthew Miller

Superintendent

The district will host assemblies this morning at all three of its middle schools -- Memorial, Ridge and Shore -- to talk about the seriousness of making threats to students' safety, district spokeswoman Kristen Kirby said.