Portsmouth school Supt. Lynn Krizic sent a note late this morning to parents describing what happened at Portsmouth High School last night and the administration and police response. From the AlertNow e-mail:

Dear Portsmouth Parents,

I am writing to share with you information regarding an incident that occurred very late last evening at Portsmouth High School. A handwritten note was discovered on a bathroom wall that contained a reference to an explosive device. At this time the details of this note cannot be fully revealed so as not to interfere with our ability to investigate who may have written it.

Police Chief Jeff Furtado contacted me to share that upon receiving a call from PHS night shift personnel, they immediately contacted the Rhode Island State Police K-9 team to request a search of the school. We made the shared decision to have the entire school searched as we place student safety as one of our highest priorities. In the very early morning hours of the day, we received a report that there was no evidence of any explosive device or explosive material in any part of the school. Based on that report, we made the decision to have school in session; and we requested to have a Portsmouth Police Officer on site at PHS today.

The administration and local law enforcement agencies are taking this event very seriously. If anyone has information regarding the person responsible for leaving the note, please contact PHS immediately at 683-2124. We will be conducting an internal investigation to try to determine which student and/or students may have been involved in making this threat. The appropriate disciplinary action will be taken for any student or students who had responsibility for this incident.

Incidents such as this, in light of the recent events in Boston, may cause your child to become upset. Counselors and/or social workers are available in each of our schools to meet with students if they need to talk about this incident as well as how this incident may be affecting them.

Sincerely,

Lynn S. Krizic, Ed.D.
Superintendent