Deputies investigated but found nobody had been threatened and decided against pressing charges. That doesn't make a difference to parents and school safety experts who said they were outraged that a lesson in weapons would be included in a high school curriculum, especially as schools nationwide cope with shootings and threats. Not only is it inappropriate, but potentially could be quite dangerous in terms of how students react. Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center in California, said the two Columbine High School students who killed 12 students and a teacher had made bombs in their garage before their rampage. The last thing a school system needs to do is empower students with bomb-making skills.
Students become what they experience.
Repeated attempts to reach the teacher, Jeffrey Hagenmeier, were not successful Wednesday, and Tampa Bay Tech Principal Sylvia Albritton refused to comment. District spokesman Mark Hart said school officials are investigating. He made a point of saying Hagenmeier was not teaching students how to make bombs. Sheriff's Detective Craig Darlak, a member of the county's bomb squad, went to the school and examined the device. Sheriff's officials would not allow the Times to see the device or to photograph it Wednesday.