To the Whitehall Community-

First, I would like to thank you for the patience and support you demonstrated this morning. It has been a very long, and challenging, morning for the district. I recognize you may have questions and concerns regarding this morning’s events. In an attempt to answer your questions and keep you as informed as possible, I would like to provide additional information.

At approximately 4 a.m. an email was sent to my inbox stating a bomb was placed somewhere in the district facilities and if the district did not pay a ransom, the bomb would be remotely detonated. When I read this highly concerning e-mail, I took the following steps:

• I immediately contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office and began coordinating the district's response in partnership with their office
  

• Our SRO as well as a Sheriff's investigator were assigned to the school to investigate the perimeter of the facility and to keep non-authorized individuals off school grounds until a complete investigation could be completed
  

• A two-hour delay was initiated to provide law enforcement with the time to arrive on site, begin to sweep the campus and begin investigating the origins of the email
  

• I met law enforcement at school as they searched the entire facility
  

•  The search team included our SRO along with his K-9 unit specially trained to detect bombs as well as a Sheriffs Investigator
  

• Fortunately, the search uncovered nothing of concern on campus, however we needed to close for the day as we were unable to receive an “all clear” in advance of the necessary departure time for our buses
  
  

In addition, please note:

• This threat was not unique to Whitehall
  

• School districts throughout the state, including many of the school districts in Washington County received the same or similar threat
  

• Any threat against the district will be taken with extreme caution and the district will follow our established safety procedures and under the recommendations from our law enforcement partners. We will never assume a threat is a "hoax"
  

• The district will press charges to the fullest extent possible against any individual who threatens our school community
  

As Superintendent of Schools, my first priority is to ensure the safety of everyone who enters our facilities and I take that responsibility seriously. I will do my best to respond to any situation in a professional manner and to work to provide timely, accurate, and relevant information to our faculty, staff, and entire community. 

If you have any questions on the district response to this situation, please feel free to contact me.

Patrick Dee
Superintendent of Schools