VIRGINIA BEACH — For the second day in a row, St. John the Apostle Catholic School was closed Friday in response to threats received in the wake of a disciplinary decision made by school officials.
The private school, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, initially planned to only close Thursday, but announced in a notice to parents later that day that it would keep its doors shuttered Friday.
Superintendent for Catholic Schools Michael Riley wrote that school officials have been working with law enforcement. He also said they’d determined the emailed threat was sent by someone outside the Virginia Beach area with no ties to the school.
“And we know this individual sent the threat in response to new coverage he saw related to the school’s recent disciplinary decision,” Riley wrote.
The Virginian-Pilot and other local media outlets reported this week about the school’s decision to suspend a 6th-grade student after he told the principal a classmate had a bullet. The boy, 11, was told he also would be punished because he didn’t report the incident immediately, according to his mother, Rachel Wigand.
Wigand said her son didn’t say anything right away because he wanted to wait until the other boy was no longer around. Both boys ended up getting the same punishment, she said, which was a 1½-day suspension.
Wigand contacted attorney Tim Anderson in an effort to get the decision reversed, but the school refused. She’s now considering suing.
“Public opinion overwhelmingly supports my client that St. John’s wrongfully suspended her son,” Anderson wrote Friday. “They are in the hot seat for making a dumb decision and now want the parents of the school to be mad at my client because school is shut down.”
Riley, however, wrote in his letter to parents that school officials must take such threats seriously. A private security firm has been hired to help ensure a safe return to school next week, he wrote.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
