HALIFAX – Finding out your child’s school has been the target of a bomb threat is something no parent wants to imagine, let alone have happen.
For a group of parents in the Halifax-area, that scenario has been made a reality not once, but twice in the past year.
In May, John W. MacLeod Elementary School on Purcell’s Cove Road in Halifax was the target of a bomb threat. The school was evacuated and police combed the property for any sign of something suspicious but nothing was found.
Last week, the same elementary school was again the target of a bomb scare.
Community members who have children attending the school say they asked to meet with the school board following the first incident, but that never happened.
“The problem lies in that we could have learned from the last time, and we could have learned from the time before, but they don’t want to have that conversation with us,” said D’Arcy Morris-Poultney, a father with children at the school.
He is frustrated with how things have been unfolding and is helping to organize a meeting between concerned parents, the police, elected officials and the school board.
“We’re not on a witch hunt. We’re not upset with what happened, what we want to do is make sure all the parents are on the same page,” he told Global News.
Morris-Poultney says parents are not saying the school, teachers or the school board did a bad job handing the bomb threats when they happened, but he does feel that parents and the school board should be working better together.
“Should you go to get your child, where should you go, what should you do?,” he said. “Because right now, when I get an email or a text saying something about a bomb scare or a similar event, all I do is sit at my desk and worry and that doesn’t need to happen.”
Requests for an interview with the Halifax Regional School Board were declined. In a written statement, Kelly Connors, Spokesperson for the board said during the bomb threat the school followed proper communications procedures.
“The safety of our students and staff is of utmost priority,” the statement read. “If parents and/or guardians have any concerns about their child’s safety, they should contact the schools Principal.”
Morris-Poultney feels that if parents have the training and tools to better explain to their children what happened and why during one of these incidents, it would benefit everyone. He and other concerned parents say they have reached out to the Halifax Regional School Board multiple times to voice their concerns, and are frustrated that they can not answer the questions that their kids come home with properly.
“If the parents don’t know what they’re saying, one child goes home and gets one story, another child goes home and gets another story and then the next day, the two kids are talking in the school yard and what you have is the events of a bomb scare is relayed by a 6-year-old,” Morris-Poultney said.
A meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., at the John W. MacLeod Elementary School Thursday night. Local parents, representatives from the Halifax Regional Police, Councillor Linda Mosher, MLA Brendan Maguire and NS Justice Minister Lena Diab are expected to take part.
An invitation was also extended to the Halifax Regional School Board. Thursday afternoon, Morris-Poultney says he was informed that Andy MacNeil, Supervisor of School Administration for the board would attend the meeting.
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