Limited hall passes, access to upstairs bathrooms at Dimond High Tuesday after last week’s threats

There will be limited hall passes and limited access to upstairs bathrooms at Anchorage's Dimond High School on Tuesday after written threats were found last week in the school, according to an email Sunday from the principal.

There will also be an "increased School Resource Officer (SRO) presence on campus," said the email from school principal Tina Johnson-Harris to Dimond High parents.

"Even given the limited hallway movement outside of classes, learning will continue for our students," Johnson-Harris said.

Students across the Anchorage School District resume classes Tuesday after having Monday off in observance of Veterans Day. It will be the first day Dimond High students return to classes since police were at the school Friday investigating the threats.

Some Dimond High parents have criticized how the district and school responded to the threats. Classes weren't canceled at Dimond High on Friday, but some parents did decide to pick up their children from school.

Catherine Esary, school district spokeswoman, referred questions to Anchorage police about whether officers had identified who wrote the threats.

Kendra Doshier, a police spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement Monday that police continued to investigate.

"We cannot stress enough how seriously the department takes threats of any kind. Safety is our number one priority," she said. "We want to assure the community that we continue to thoroughly investigate this incident in cooperation with the Anchorage School District and will ensure that those responsible are held accountable."

Doshier said in a follow-up email that she had no new information to release about the investigation. If police made an arrest, they would send out a statement, she said. There had been no such statement by 4:45 p.m. Monday.

[Anchorage police investigate written threats at Dimond High while school remains in session]

There will be a parent meeting at Dimond High on Monday at 5:30 p.m., Esary said.

"This meeting is an effort to ease concerns regarding the return of school on Tuesday. Parents will have an opportunity to ask questions and hear from District representatives, the Anchorage Police Department, and me about how we will continue to work collaboratively for the safety of our students," Johnson-Harris said in Sunday's email.

"In the event you are not able to attend the meeting, please be assured that we are diligently working to ensure families and students have a solid sense of safety in returning to school."

Esary declined to say Monday afternoon why Dimond High was limiting hallway and bathroom access Tuesday. She said the school principal would likely address that at the parent meeting.

"I want to give her the opportunity to talk to her parents," Esary said.

Esary also declined to explain what an increased presence of school resource officers would look like at Dimond High. She said that would also likely be addressed at the evening meeting.

Johnson-Harris could not immediately be reached for comment at Dimond High Monday afternoon.

Monday was a professional development day at the district.

Four threats were found at Dimond High last week, and all were written in bathrooms, district officials said on Friday.

One read: "I'm shooting up the school, I'm not joking. I have a gun in my lock," according to an email last Monday from Johnson-Harris to parents.

About 1,520 students are enrolled at Dimond High.