Quiet prevails at Costa Mesa High

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA - Near empty classrooms and hallways at Costa Mesa High

School proved safe Friday for students who braved the last day of classes

before spring break, despite a bomb threat made earlier in the week.

A warning that “Nazi punks” would blow up the school on Friday the

13th was found scribbled on a bathroom wall on Tuesday by two female

students.

School officials immediately contacted the Costa Mesa Police

Department and an outside security agency, which combed the school

overnight for any sign of a bomb.

Students and staff began the day warily, but before long it was only

the absence of about one-third of the students that reminded them of the

scare.

“I think as the day goes by and things calm down we’re all certain

that there isn’t an explosive device here,” said Steve Pavich, the

assistant principal. “[Police] assured me that most of the night officers

checked in stairwells and in sewage drains. They checked every nook and

cranny.”

Police, who said they were checking inside garbage cans when the sun

rose Friday, remained on campus to make sure everything remained safe and

that everyone remained calm.

When school bells rang students could still be heard in the hallways

shuffling to their next class, but their significantly decreased number

created nowhere near the usual roar.

Don Ryan’s third-period physical science class usually has 31 students

packed in the seats. But Friday only 10 sat scattered about trying to

work on lab assignments without their partners.

“I can spend more time with each kid, but you can’t run a school with

10 kids in a classroom,” Ryan said.

Ryan added that he had only about 25% attendance in his first two

periods and was hearing reports of the same low numbers from his fellow

teachers.

“Teachers made it evident that we felt it was safe,” Ryan said. “I

think all [students] should have been here. Students who stayed home

because their parents told them to are one thing, but I think you’ll find

those with a propensity for ditching anyway are not here.”

Students in attendance Friday seemed to agree with Ryan.

Amber Lopez, 15, said it never occurred to her to stay home.

“They’re just staying home because it’s an excuse,” she said of her

missing peers.