TCA President Resigns After Suspicious Device Incident
The Classical Academy Board of Directors accepted the resignation of the President, Dr. David Bohn, and placed High School Principal, Hugh Di Pretore, on administrative leave Monday evening.
The move comes after an incident last week at the TCA North Campus where two camping propane tanks, marginally functioning flares, rubbing alcohol, a fuel cell for a model rocket and some boxer shorts were found in two separate suspicious packages.
The Board of Directors says it will review additional information received regarding the incident.
The Board of Directors was informed for the first time on Monday of a third device identified prior to last week’s incident and prior to Spring Break (March 26-30), which may have been related to the other two. The device was turned over to the police with the other suspicious objects last Thursday. The device was determined to be a jar of rubbing alcohol and various smoking fireworks by the Colorado Springs Police Department. The device was determined to be incendiary like the other two, and also did not have an ignition source, like another two.
“This is an ongoing investigation, but based on the information we received today, we felt this action was best for The Classical Academy community,” said Dr. Chris Leland, Board President. “We have started making significant changes to prevent these types of incidents from happening again. We would like to reassure our community that we are certain this student acted alone and there are no further threats at the schools.”
On Friday, the Board directed the administration to hire a Director of Security, review policies and procedures regarding “unidentified objects” and safety protocol, develop a crisis communication plan for parents, staff and students, among other changes.
“This has been a difficult situation for us all. It is unfortunate that such actions were necessary, but we believe this is what is best for our students, parents and the community as a whole,” added Leland.
A leadership transition team will be put into place this week while the board searches for a permanent replacement for their President. As next steps are determined or more information becomes available in the course of this investigation, it will be released to the public.
