Frontier Public Schools Canceled Classes Due To Potential Threat Towards Students

Frontier Public Schools canceled classes Friday following a possible threat to a few students. 

A note written by a Frontier science teacher was found by a student. That note had four student's names written on it, along with the phrase "license to kill,” websites and email addresses associated with companies that sell bulletproof glass.

Superintendent Dale Bledsoe said action was taken as soon as he found out about the note. He said he heard about the note Thursday night, contacted the sheriff and canceled school. 

The teacher, whose name was not released by the school, has been placed on administrative leave.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our students. We take that very seriously," Bledsoe said.

The Noble County Sheriff’s Office conducted an investigation and interviewed multiple people, including the teacher in question. 

Sheriff Mark McGuire told News 9 they do not believe there is any credibility to this threat. He said students are safe to return to school Monday at this point. 

We spoke to some of the parents of the students whose names were on that list. Some of them feel like action should have been taken earlier by the school.

“There's no level of concern that is too great," Frankie Baptista said. Her 15-year-old stepson was one of the students named on the paper. 

“This is our 15-year-old son. This man lives on their campus," Baptista said. 

The school could not confirm that the teacher lived on campus for personal reasons but did say there is on-campus housing available for faculty.

Baptista said she was notified about the note from the spouse of a school board member and immediately took action.

“I'm not sure what scared us more- the letter or the lack of concern from our administration," Baptista said.

“The principal received this note the day before yesterday- and she contacted my son and said- 'oh this is just a movie don't worry about it'," Baptista said. She said she was also the one to notify the superintendent of the note yesterday. 

Baptista said she wanted better communication between administration and the parents, especially the parents of the students on that list.

“As soon as the letter was found- I can't imagine why you wouldn't contact the four parents on the list," Baptista said.

News 9 spoke to another parent whose son's name was on the list. She said she was concerned when she first heard about it, but that concern faded quickly.

“After I read it, I thought it looked like it just had random notes on it that none of them had to do with the other one," Amanda Goodman said.

Goodman said the school administration called her to apologize for their initial reaction to the note.

“They took care of the situation, they found out what the note was about," Goodman said.

Bledsoe said they will use this incident to improve their future responses. 

“We'll always look at this situation and see what we can improve on," Bledsoe said.

Sheriff McGuire said if any new information comes up, they will continue investigating. 

Students are expected to be able to safely return to school on Monday morning.