Classes to resume Friday at Merchantville School

Posted: January 11, 2013

Classes were set to resume Friday at Merchantville School, which was closed after a teacher found threatening graffiti on the wall of a boys' bathroom, Merchantville Police Chief Wayne Bauer said Thursday.

The Camden County school, which has about 350 students in pre-K through eighth grade, was closed for a day as a precaution, Bauer said. It was searched and found safe, the school district said.

In Burlington County, police also were called to a school Thursday. Students were dismissed from Palmyra High while authorities investigated a midmorning bomb threat. The case remains open, but students should return Friday, officials said.

In an online letter to the Merchantville School community Thursday, Chief School Administrator J. Scott Strong said the graffiti had "certain hallmarks of a child acting out." But an extra police presence and possible security checks would be put in place, he said.

A dance scheduled for junior high students Friday was canceled, he said.

The scrawled message was not directed at anyone specifically, Bauer said.

A student may have written it as a joke, but "in light of what happened in Newtown, can you do too much? I don't think so," he said. "We're taking this very seriously."

Anyone with information has been asked to call the police at 856-662-0500.


Contact Barbara Boyer

at 856-779-3838 or bboyer@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @BBBoyer.

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