After police searched the Northwest Jr. High building and made sure there was no posing threat to students and staff, the district and Coralville officers investigated the matter.

An email sent by Superintendent Matt Degner to families revealed that the school threat was identical to two separate bomb threat messages sent to Hilton Central School District in New York on the same day. The email sent to the HCSD was investigated, and no credible threat was found. 

The Coralville Police Department also stated that they have no reason to believe this incident is a local threat to the Northwest Jr. High community. 

Superintendent Degner believes that the hazard was intended to cause disruption and draw attention to the availability of the book “This Book is Gay” in school libraries. The book has been removed from ICCSD library shelves and is undergoing the book consideration process per the district board policy. 

The email also emphasized sympathies for the school shooting on Mar. 28 at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian school in Nashville, Tennessee. Six individuals were killed in the shooting, with three being nine-year-old children and the rest staff members. 

Superintendent Degner further highlighted that the district will continue to evaluate its comprehensive emergency plans, security measures and preventive practices, with the ultimate goal being to instill the reassurance of student and staff safety within the realms of their buildings.