BOY, 12, ACCUSED OF THREAT TO DEAN

He Answered A Question And Was Arrested. Police May Have Found Drugs.

WALLINGFORD -- A 12-year-old Strath Haven Middle School student, arrested
in class Thursday after making a remark construed as a threat against the
school dean, has been scheduled to appear in Delaware County Juvenile Court
on June 7.

The student, a Swarthmore resident, is charged with the making of
terroristic threats, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, and
disorderly conduct.

What is suspected to be marijuana and a pipe were found on him at the time
of his arrest, according to a Nether Providence police report on the incident.

The District Attorney's Office said the boy was released for "in-home
supervision" after a hearing Friday in Media.

Sharon Parker, the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District superintendent,
confirmed yesterday that the boy had been suspended pending disposition of
the case, as called for in the district's drug policy.

Police said the threat charge stemmed from the boy's reply when teacher
Michael Barr asked members of his class how they would like to be remembered
in history. The class had been discussing the epitaphs of historical figures.

"I would like to be remembered as an assassin and kill Mr. Preg," the boy
said, according to the police report.John Preg is the dean of students and
disciplinarian at Strath Haven. Police said the teacher considered the
remark serious enough to be reported to school administrators, who contacted
the District Attorney's Office. The arrest followed. Police said the boy had
no previous record.

School board member Jon Auritt, an attorney, said incidences of violence in
schools across the country have led authorities to take a tougher stance
against threats and bomb scares, whatever the intent.

He added that public concern over guns and student safety has been
heightened by the massacre in April at Columbine High School in Littleton,
Colo., that left 15 dead and by last Thursday's shootings in a Conyers, Ga.,
school, where six students were wounded.

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