At 9:28 a.m. today, Oct. 18, an email threat stating bombs have been placed in schools throughout the state was sent to the Duanesburg Central School District Board of Education email as well as the district’s Information Technology Director.
Although the threat was a broad statement with questionable credibility, the district’s schools immediately went into a shelter-in-place, and officials contacted the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office as well as the district’s school resource officers.
A shelter-in-place means students and staff remain in their classrooms and instruction continues while district leaders work with law enforcement to investigate the threat, which in this case is affecting many districts in the region. Police searched Duanesburg’s schools and determined it was safe for the shelter-in-place to be lifted at the Jr./Sr. High School at about 10:40 a.m. and at the elementary school at about 11:00 a.m.
The district will continue to follow all of its safety protocols, including locking all exterior doors and requiring visitors to request access to the schools before entry is granted. If anyone has a safety concern at any time, they should reach out to either a building principal or Interim Superintendent of Schools Jeffery Ziegler.