Editor’s Note: Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper issued the following statement following Wednesday’s bomb threat at North Habersham Middle School.
“At some point today, a student at North Habersham Middle School wrote a bomb threat on a wall in a restroom. As a precaution, the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office brought in three bomb dogs to clear the school of any potential threats. Multiple officers and dogs did a complete and thorough check of the entire campus. Students were evacuated from the building while the building was checked out. Nothing suspicious was found and it was determined that the bomb threat was a hoax.
There is currently an intensive investigation underway by school officials and law enforcement to determine who is responsible for the hoax. We are confident that we will find out who is responsible and the culprit will face the most severe consequences through the school system as well as in the legal system.
The North Habersham Middle School principal communicated with parents through a phone message during the evacuation as well as after the all clear was given. The principal also communicated facts about the situation to students while they waited for the building to be cleared.
I was at the school and was very impressed with the way our staff and students handled the situation today. I also want to thank the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office for their outstanding response, as well as the Georgia State Patrol, Habersham County Fire Department, and Habersham County EMS. Sheriff Joey Terrell and Fire Chief Jeff Cain were both at the school to assist today. In addition, I want to commend our transportation department for quickly sending school buses to the school so that students did not have to wait in the rain.
As I have said previously, we will investigate any real or perceived threats to our students, staff or schools. We will involve law enforcement and will use all other resources in our investigations. Our school system receives exceptional cooperation from our local law enforcement agencies and they stand ready to deal with anyone that makes threats with their words or actions.
We are all on the same team and we all want our children to be safe.
We continue to urge students, parents, and community members to immediately report any concerns to a school administrator or local law enforcement agency. The safety of our students is our number one priority in the Habersham County School System and we put this priority into action every single day. It is also important that everyone understands the importance of working together as a school system and community. We are all on the same team and we all want our children to be safe. It undermines our efforts to keep children safe when fingers are pointed and misinformation is spread.
I believe that our schools here in Habersham County are among the safest places anywhere for students to be. I not only believe this as a superintendent, but I also believe this as a parent who has two students in our school system. In the Habersham County School System, we have administrators, teachers, and staff members who are willing to do whatever it takes to protect our boys and girls. We have extensive safety measures in place at all schools and we continually look for ways to improve these measures.
Our parents should feel assured that when it comes to safety, we treat our students like they are our own children. I will continue to pray daily for the safety of our students, staff, and community.”
