Local school districts issue statements following LAUSD threat

Update: No schools in the Coachella Valley were closed Tuesday following the mass closure of schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

But our local school districts did send out information to parents/guardians to help put any worries to rest, and some extra security measures were taken as a precaution.

The Palm Springs Unified School District released the following statement to parents/guardians Tuesday morning:

Hello Palm Springs Unified parents and guardians. You may have heard the news this morning that Los Angeles Unified schools are closed today due to what law enforcement officials are deeming a credible safety threat. We want to assure you that each of our campuses is being searched this morning, and we also have extra security personnel on duty. We will also be communicating with local law enforcement agencies as needed. We recognize you may be feeling uncomfortable. We want to reassure you that there is no safety threat in our area. Your children are safe, and our schools are open. The safety of our students is our number one priority. Please feel confident to send your children to school today as you do every day. Thank you for your continued support.

The Coachella Valley Unified School District posted the following on its Facebook page Tuesday morning:

This is a message from CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Adams and the Board of Trustees, to inform you that CVUSD schools will continue under normal /regular school day operation. We are aware of the school closures at LAUSD. Our number one priority is the safety of students, teachers and staff as we focus on educating our students. We will continue to reach out to our community agencies and monitor the situation and keep our parents up to date with any developments that may occur.

The Desert Sands Unified School District also issued a statement regarding the closures in LAUSD:

Schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District are closed today due to a threat, specific to their area. Desert Sands Unified School District’s safety and security staff has confirmed with local and federal authorities that there is no threat to our schools. All schools within Desert Sands Unified School District will continue as scheduled. We are in contact with local law enforcement and will continue to monitor the situation in Los Angeles and be hyper vigilant in our district to ensure student and staff safety. The safety of students, staff, and parents is of utmost importance and we approach safety with an overabundance of caution.
If you have additional concerns please contact your school principal. Thank you.

While there was limited activity for our local school districts, all schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District were ordered closed due to a threat. School district spokeswoman Ellen Morgan announced the closure Tuesday but released no further details ahead of a press conference at district headquarters.

A law enforcement official says the threat that closed all schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District was emailed to a school board member and appeared to come from overseas.

An “electronic threat” received early Tuesday prompted the decision, school district police Chief Steve Zipperman said, adding that the threat “is still being analyzed.”

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The official says the threat was sent late Monday.

The district, the second largest in the nation, has 640,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade and more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools.

The district spans 720 square miles including Los Angeles and all or part of more than 30 smaller cities and some unincorporated areas.