Scranton superintendent says note with unspecified threat prompted hold, police investigation at West Grand campus

Superintendent Nikkeem told the board the district responded to a written note found on a student desk at West Grand Intermediate/West Grand High School that contained an unspecified threat.

According to the superintendent, building administration immediately involved the Scranton Police Department and placed the building on a "hold" to allow investigators to assess the credibility of the threat. "When we determined that there was no credibility to the threat, the hold was ended and students were dismissed floor by floor, so we had an orderly dismissal," Nikkeem said. She thanked the Scranton Police Department "for their quick and efficient response to the situation."

Nikkeem said the district's protocol is to treat all threats seriously and to investigate them regardless of initial impressions about credibility: "When a threat is made, we're always going to take the steps to investigate them. Regardless of what we believe in credibility, we will take everything seriously, to always put the safety of our students and staff at the forefront of everything that we do." She also noted she released statements on social media and that a 1-call notification occurred later in the process.

For follow-up, the superintendent invited questions and directed members of the public to contact her, Assistant Superintendent O'Donnell, or Kevin Carney, the district's supervisor of safety and security.

Ending: The district reported that police cleared the scene and that normal operations resumed after the investigation concluded with no credible threat found.