It takes a special kind of stupid...

[Splitlip]

As an aside; I am blessed that my daughter's high school is next to the JPD and my office.

We have lots of cops with full auto weapons, dogs, boats, scubapro gear, viking drysuits, choppers, mobile command posts etc. We have 2 exits off the interstate leading to Jupiter and and our cops are here to apprehend any trash that think they can come here and commit mayhem. Our detective and CSI folks are OK, but our undercover and SWAT guys...they are ..well, very,very good!

 

[Cave Diver]

Absolutely! Please don't take my thoughts as "no repercussions"! I think s/he should be caned! But a felony charge?

According to the detective my sister spoke with it doesnt qualify as a felony. Based on what Mike posted I *think* that's because it's a private school vs. a public one.

But if it does fall under a felony charge, then so be it. Ignorance of the law is no defense.

 

[Ayisha]

So if the principal does not want to press charges, can't anyone else involved or the police press charges?

In Canada, people don't press charges. The police and the Crown (prosecution) lay charges. What determines when there is a choice to lay charges in the U.S.?

Agreed that the "joke" showed very poor judgement by someone who should be able to be trusted to make good decisions and teach the children to make good, well thought out decisions.

 

[Splitlip]

So if the principal does not want to press charges, can't anyone else involved or the police press charges?

In Canada, people don't press charges. The police and the Crown (prosecution) lay charges. What determines when there is a choice to lay charges in the U.S.?

Agreed that the "joke" showed very poor judgement by someone who should be able to be trusted to make good decisions and teach the children to make good, well thought out decisions.

It is just an easier case I believe if there is "victim" willing to pursue. Same here, it is "the people", not the Crown. It is a ****ed up snapshot of humanity, IMO.

 

[irishsquid]

This is totally screwed up. Little Johnny gets apprehended by the school safety officer and suspended for having a plastic butter knife in his Scooby Doo lunch pail or for pointing his finger like a gun at recess while playing Cowboys and Indians with other boys, yet this MORON falsifies a bomb scare and pretty much gets away with it. There is no hope for sanity or common sense anymore. Some of these kids will grow up remembering that this crap is OK. Sweet!

 

[Mike]

This is totally screwed up. Little Johnny gets apprehended by the school safety officer and suspended for having a plastic butter knife in his Scooby Doo lunch pail or for pointing his finger like a gun at recess while playing Cowboys and Indians with other boys, yet this MORON falsifies a bomb scare and pretty much gets away with it. There is no hope for sanity or common sense anymore. Some of these kids will grow up remembering that this crap is OK. Sweet!

Little Johnny shouldn't be suspended. Bomb scare moron shouldn't go to jail. - See the pattern here?

Maybe it would be ok for them to smack a toddler that won't stop crying too?

Nobody smacked a child, somebody was a moron, not a child abuser.

Two students release a live chicken in their school as a prank, and face criminal charges.

In this case, an adult calls a bomb threat into a school and no one wants to press charges.

Seems like these two responses are a bit reversed.

The two students shouldn't face criminal charges, Bomb scare moron shouldn't go to jail. - See the pattern here?

Don't you think stupid, nanny state mentality in effect on the kids in both of those cases is the indicator that enough is enough, not to keep the insanity going.

 

[mike_s]

Instead of "handing it internally", the principal would have been far better off handling it externally, by walking the teacher to the door, and into the hands of the police. That would show the school off in a far better light, when parents learn, as always happens eventually.

This is simple..... the Principal didn't want the media coverage of "BOMB THREAT AT PRIVATE SCHOOL" and have a bunch of parents WHO PAY BIG MONEY MONTHLY to come and pull their kids out of school.

Like I said, it's simple. IT'S ALL ABOUT FINANCES......

 

[ScubaSteve]

So there are students at this school from K to 12 right? Granted, maybe a kindergarten student may not understand that the offender got off big time but a grade 12 student sure as heck understands. The school is sending a message to every student, young and old.....and a very clear one. "There is no law in our school". I wonder what will happen when a bunch of students start calling in Bomb Threats because they have been shown that it is OK to do.

 

[gypsyjim]

This is simple..... the Principal didn't want the media coverage of "BOMB THREAT AT PRIVATE SCHOOL" and have a bunch of parents WHO PAY BIG MONEY MONTHLY to come and pull their kids out of school.

Like I said, it's simple. IT'S ALL ABOUT FINANCES......

I agree, BUT....
You don't think that a headline saying:

Parents Outraged at Principal of Private School Who Refused to Press Charges Against Teacher Who Made Bomb Threat Hoax Against the School.

would not have similar results?

 

[Mike]

So there are students at this school from K to 12 right? Granted, maybe a kindergarten student may not understand that the offender got off big time but a grade 12 student sure as heck understands. The school is sending a message to every student, young and old.....and a very clear one. "There is no law in our school". I wonder what will happen when a bunch of students start calling in Bomb Threats because they have been shown that it is OK to do.

If the principal has the legal right to not press charges then he is not breaking the law, he is not sending a message to anybody that he is breaking the law.

If he then handles it internally according to his HR guidelines and suspends or disaplines this person internally, he is not sending any message that your insinuating.

The message simply is the person did wrong, he faced the consequences according to the rules in place.

How you're able to mix this up by believing that unless the person is convicted of a crime he is getting away with something baffles me.

Somebody called in a fake bomb threat on April Fools Day. WOW! String him up, stone him, cut off a hand to make sure all the kiddies know don't you ever do that or you'll get the same.

A principal in a religious school handling the situation based on religious principles, internally, keeping it all in perspective. What a nut job he is.

Instead we need the parents to line up with a civil suit against this person because their little kid was traumatized.

I'm glad none of you ever made a mistake when you were younger, and if you did I'm glad you were shown no tollerance, instead were faced with the maximum methods of punishment. Obviously it worked, it turned you into bitter people who want a pound of flesh from somebody else so you can continue to propigate the insanity, and of course you can all do it hiding behind the banner of - its for the kids.


What everyone should take into consideration is that the principal is not breaking the law by not pressing charges, he is following the law, if he wasn't the local police dept would be pursuing this on their own. The prinicpal has the CHOICE of pressing charges or dealing with the situation internally. If the person who did this is such a bad egg then the principal has the ability to fire them, or even pursue charges, however if the principal counsels with this person and feels the situation can be resolved satisfactorly through internal methods then the pricipal is actually doing what he's paid to do which is administer, run the school and deal with issues like this.