All Departments Schools brace for a memory The fearful images of Columbine High School provoke caution on the second anniversary of the shootings. In Hillsborough County and across the nation, schools are ready for potential problems.
Some teens plan to stay home.
School officials began hearing rumors in February of possible copycat violence. Extra law enforcement officers will be in place at some schools, but otherwise it will be just another day. Wednesday and Thursday, letters were sent home to 39 of Hillsborough's 161 schools encouraging parents to report specific threats to authorities and to keep their children from spreading gossip. School principals will determine whether to offer excused absences for students too afraid to attend school today, said Hart. Today's anniversary occurs with the backdrop of a record number of bomb threats in Hillsborough schools.