Officials evacuate Marble Falls Elementary after bomb threat; no device found
DANIEL CLIFTON AND JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — A note stating a bomb threat was discovered at 7:27 a.m. April 24 on the door of a Head Start building at Marble Falls Elementary School, forcing officials to move students to a playground on the other side of the campus.
By 9:09 a.m., the Marble Falls Police Department had given the all-clear signal to start a normal day. No device was found, officials said.
According to Marble Falls Police Sgt. Barry Greer, someone found a note on the Head Start building regarding an unspecific bomb threat. Greer said school officials immediately began implementing safety procedures by clearing the campus and moving children and staff to the north playground adjacent to RR 1431.
The Head Start building is located on the south side of the campus adjacent to Broadway Avenue.
“Every campus has procedures set up for every situation,” said MFISD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Operations Wade Standord during the time of the incident and search. “(MFES Principal Bruce) Peckover has already started those procedures. I feel confident they’re accounting for every student they have. I feel very confident they know every student that is there. They are our kiddos at that point.
“Our No. 1 priority is to ensure kids’ safety,” he added. “And then to return to a normal school day as soon as we can do that.”
Greer said because the bomb threat was not specific on a location, officials searched the entire campus, including unattached buildings such as the Head Start facility and the Falls on the Colorado Museum.
“The kids were in the process of coming to school when we learned of the bomb threat,” said MFES Principal Bruce Peckover.
Officers, staff and district officials began moving the students to the playground, which is located on the opposite side of the campus from where the note was discovered.
“We already had five or six officers here, and they helped us move the children out to the buildings,” Peckover said.
Parents were allowed to return and stand with their children on the playground, but officials weren’t allowing them to check their students out at that time.
“We went room to room and closet to closet checking the school and buildings,” Peckover said.
Initially, officers and school officials cleared the main campus about 8:50 a.m. before giving the all-clear for the entire campus at 9:09 a.m. Peckover said, at that time, the children and staff returned to class. Some parents did opt to check their children out for the remainder of the day.
“But most kids are in class learning,” Peckover said.
The bomb threat came the same day some of the fifth-grade students were scheduled to take one of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams. Peckover said the bomb threat forced the start back to 10 a.m. and required scheduling a make-up day for April 25.
Marble Falls Police had seven officers on scene. Several of the officers were from the previous shift. Two Burnet County deputies as well as a Granite Shoals police officer assisted with the situation. The Marble Falls Fire Rescue and Marble Falls Area EMS had units on hand.
This is the fourth bomb threat at a Burnet County school in April. Burnet Middle School had three previous threats.
Anybody with information about this threat is asked to call the Marble Falls Police Department at (830) 693-3611 or the Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers at 1-866-756-8477 or go to its website at www.hcacrimestoppers.com.
editor@thepicayune.com