ORANGE PARK, Fla. –
Orange Park High School will resume its normal schedule Wednesday after a bomb threat closed the school for the entire day Tuesday.
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Investigators with the Clay County Sheriff's Office wrapped up their search of Orange Park High around noon Tuesday, hours after an administrator received a bomb threat via email.
Once the school was given the all-clear, teachers and staff were asked to check their areas for signs of anything different or out of place.
Shortly after 2 p.m., parents were sent an email (see below) saying the Sheriff's Office had determined that the school is clear and safe.
"We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the morning," the email said.
Superintendent Charlie Van Zant said the threat was emailed to a school administrator around 1:30 a.m. and was discovered later in the morning. He said it's unclear if the threat came from a former or current student. About 2,300 students attend Orange Park High.
"As we do investigate and find those responsible, they'll be dealt with in the most extreme terms that we can," Van Zant said.
Clay County School Board spokesman Gavin Rollins sent an email to media outlets (see below) about 6:50 a.m. Tuesday to announce that the decision had been made to cancel classes for the day because law enforcement had not been able to fully investigate the threat.
"We're always, always, always going to make the decision to put the safety of our faculty and our students first, and that's job one for us," Van Zant said. "We educate, we do a whole lot of things, but the safety of our kids is paramount."
About 20 deputies swept every building, classroom and closet. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was also brought in to assist, along with a K-9 unit.
“The early morning of this allows us to have the campus to ourselves to take our time and make sure everything is OK before students are allowed on campus, if that’s the case,” Clay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mary Justino said. “That’s certainly our hope is that everything is back to normal by the morning.”
Both Justino and Rollins said the cancelation was out of an abundance of caution, and that nothing suspicious was found.
“Student safety is always first,” Rollins said. “If there's any concern with student safety, we'll make necessary decisions related to that.”
All other Clay County schools remained open Tuesday.
"Nowadays, it's better to homeschool your kids, instead of going outside and taking them here. There's no bomb threats in your house" said Keith Neville, who has a daughter not yet in high school. "I think it was a joke. Nowadays, a traffic light falls down, it's ISIS."
Students already on buses were transported to Orange Park Junior High. Those students who had already arrived to school were moved into the Lowe's parking lot and were then transported to Orange Park Junior High.
Parents could pick up their students from the junior high school. If they were not able to, students were taken care of at the junior high until buses could transport them home.
Officials said parents were told of threat via email or phone call before classes started. Bus drivers returned students to their bus stops and drove around telling students that classes were canceled.
Van Zant thanked law enforcement for their efforts and said communication about the closure could not have gone more flawlessly.
School board email to parents:
Thank you for your patience and understanding this morning with the school closing due to an early morning threat. After working closely with the Clay County Sheriffs Office, JSO, and other agencies the school has been thoroughly and methodically searched using equipment, dogs and personnel. The Sheriff's office has determined the school is clear and safe. Classes will resume as normal on Wednesday December 9th. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the morning. Also, please know that the necessary legal action will be taken towards the person responsible for the threat. They will be dealt with fully but we are not able to release specifics of the legal action at this time.
School board email to media outlets:
Orange Park High School received a direct bomb threat early this morning. Because law enforcement has not been able to fully investigate this threat, the decision has been made to cancel school today for Orange Park High School only. Students already on buses will be transported to Orange Park Junior High. Those students that have already arrived to school will be moved into the Lowe's parking lot, where they too will be transported to OPJ. We will update parents and community as we know more.