After students had left for the day, Bristol Borough High School officials found a “sticker” on the building. The sticker said a bomb would be detonated on Friday, Bristol Borough School Board Member Charles Groff told LevittownNow exclusively early Friday morning. It is a fact that borough police officials confirmed.
Sgt. Randy Morris of the Bristol Borough Police Department said that a threat was left on Monday, however, after initial investigation officials agreed it wasn’t “credible.”
Advertisements
Morris did say additional police agencies who possessed the needed resources to conduct a through search of the school were utilized and that’s why there were officials from different departments on scene.
Additionally, Bristol Borough police officials were at the school today as a precautionary measure which is part of protocol in these type of situations.
For Groff, there is a bigger issue, he said, and that’s notification of school board members of the incident and what of the public’s right to know, he asked.
Advertisements
Last night shortly after or around 8:30 p.m. authorities were at the school conducting the precautionary search which caught the attention of Penny Bottomstone Gesualdi, who is the Republican candidate for council in the east ward.
Groff said nothing was mentioned in public portion of the board meeting about the police activity at the Wilson Avenue school. He added there is a verbal agreement in place on how to handle such incidents made after school officials were swamped by calls when the school was put on lock down last October as a result of a man threatening to shoot at schools in the borough.
Advertisements
That agreement, according to Groff , says information would flow from the superintendent to the board president and then to members of the board.
School Board Member Jeff Paleafico said he was called on short notice about an executive session of the board and was present when Bristol Borough School District Superintendent Gregory Wright told members about Monday’s threat.
Paleafico said: “I don’t know why we weren’t told on Monday, or the public informed.”
Advertisements
Additionally, he confirmed Groff’s contention that a verbal agreement of how the flow of information is supposed to take place but stopped with the School Board President Ralph DiGuiseppe III until last nights board meeting
Groff said that an executive session was called to be held at 6:30 p.m which he couldn’t make due to a prior obligation, saying he had a 30-minute advance warning of the meeting which was called to add an agenda item for the board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m.
Advertisements
On this occasion they both said, the flow of information didn’t occur till Thursday night, when police officials would be in full view of the surrounding public.
Diguiseppe was contacted by E-mail and a phone message was left, on his business cell phone for comment.
Advertisements
At press time he has yet to respond.
Gesualdi who lives across the street from the school was annoyed to find out about the bomb threat subsequently, and then to watch a sweep take place in front of her home.
Advertisements
“At the very least, those of us who live across the street from the school should-be warned and informed, its ridiculous. They leave us in the dark and uninformed. This towns people need to ask questions, get smart! Don’t accept the old saying of “Well that is just the way it is or how it is done here, she further elaborated.”
Groff, frustrated, withe the lack of communication about the threat, said I am extremely disappointed that partisan politics exist on the school board. A potentially dangerous situation in district schools is not something you keep from the board or the public.
Wright allegedly told Groff today at an afternoon meeting between the two about the sticker which had the threat written on it.
Advertisements
Two attempts to contact Wright have gone unsuccessful.
A call was placed to Bristol Borough High School Principal Thomas F. Shaffer and a message left with his secretary.
Advertisements
