The Fox C-6 School District closed its Fox campus in Arnold early this morning (Oct. 1) after an email was received directed at Fox High School, school officials said.
Arnold Police Capt. Rich Shular said an email was sent to the school’s account claiming that a bomb had been planted in the school.
The email was received between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. today, said JP Prezzavento, Fox’s communications and instructional technology coordinator.
Shular said officers and police dogs are searching the school buildings on the campus at 751 Jeffco Blvd.
The campus includes Fox High School, Fox Middle School, Fox Elementary School and Building Blocks Preschool. The district’s Central Office, which also is on the Arnold campus, is open today, Prezzavento said.
“The decision to close down a campus is never made lightly as impacts so many students and staff,” Superintendent Nisha Patel said “However, these decisions are made keeping the safety and wellbeing of everyone as a top priority.”
In a letter to parents, Patel said the district immediately launched a full investigation in collaboration with Arnold Police.
Because of the threat, students at Fox High, Fox Middle, Fox Elementary and Building Blocks remained home today to receive virtual instruction.
Most students have been attending classes in a hybrid model, with about half attending classes on Thursdays and Fridays and the other have attending on Mondays and Tuesdays, because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
Prezzavento said about 1,500 students who would have received in-class instruction on Thursday are learning virtually.
Shular said the email claiming there was a bomb in the high school did not provide a motivation for the threat.
“We want to make sure that student and staff safety is our priority, and threats of this nature are taken seriously,” Patel said.
Because of the campus closure, families who normally pick up free meals for children on the Fox campus were directed to the Fox C-6 Service Center.