Parents lined outside school to check out students
A post by St. Charles Parish School Board on its Facebook page at 10:52 a.m. debunked rumors of a bomb threat at Hahnville High School, but said there is added police presence on the campus as a precautionary measure.
The post reads as follows: “There are unverified rumors and speculation regarding a bomb threat at Hahnville High School. There is additional police presence on campus as a precautionary measure. There is no creditable source or threat regarding this reported information.”
According to St. Charles Parish Schools spokeswoman Stevie Crovetto, parents were also notified of that information through the district’s messaging system.
The rumored threat comes a day after video surfaced of a presentation made at the school’s Cultural Day this week sparked controversy across social media. During the presentation, a group of black students recited a poem that included references to the Black Panthers group.
By Friday morning, parents lined outside HHS to pull their children out of school.
Rickey Myles of Boutte, who had just checked out his sister, Rikia Roundhart, said he picked her up after he initially heard “people would come and shoot up the school” and then heard rumors about a bomb threat.
Myles said the threats were connected to a Culture Day presentation about the Black Panthers.
Still waiting in line, Priscilla Berger of Bayou Gauche, said she was there to pick up her son as a precautionary move after also hearing rumors about the bomb threat. Berger also connected the threat to the Culture Day presentation.
Also from Bayou Gauche, Becky Cooper said she also was waiting to check her son out of school.
Cooper said she’d gotten the School System’s emailed alert, but couldn’t take the chance of leaving her child in a potentially dangerous situation – rumor or not.
She also said these incidents were connected to the Culture Day presentation, which she said should not have been mandatory to attend and especially when her son did want to attend it. Cooper questioned this requirement when school officials did not require student attendance on other events.
A video of the presentation posted Thursday afternoon has been shared and circulated through social media.
The St. Charles Parish School System issued the following statement Thursday evening in response to the video: “St. Charles Parish Public Schools respects and celebrates cultural diversity, historical perspectives, individual differences, and recognizes the importance of a positive learning environment inclusive of all.
A particular poem that was written by a student and shared by students at the Hahnville High School cultural show offended some audience members. We apologize as that was not the intention. The cultural show was intended to celebrate diversity and unite the student body.”
The video can be viewed below.
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