Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers patrolled the campus of Centauri High School in La Jara on Monday following reports of racial tensions and rumors of gun-toting students, North Conejos school board President Leroy Salazar said.
The reports led to the closing of the school Friday morning and postponing that night’s prom, Salazar said.
He said classes resumed Monday, but parental permission was required for a student to leave the 323-student school.
Officials also decided to install security surveillance technology, Salazar said. Superintendent John Jordan is looking into counseling and other resources to help students feel safe.
“This is a very peaceful rural community, and all of a sudden, we’re dealing with this,” Salazar said. “This is so disheartening.”
Several dozen parents sought answers from officials at a long meeting Monday about allegations that four or five students in San Luis Valley school have been at odds with an African-American basketball coach, Larry Joe Hunt. The school is 52 percent white and 47 percent Hispanic.
“There are racial slurs,” one mother, Jody Peterson, told 9News. “The kids are worried they’re going to be physically attacked” by other students.
“To date, we haven’t been able to substantiate any specific threats,” Salazar said. “There were all kinds of rumors, even of a bomb threat, which weren’t true. But we really felt like we need to do something in light of (student shootings) at Columbine (High School) and Virginia Tech.”
Calls Thursday from agitated parents caused officials to ask for an investigation by the Conejos County sheriff.
Salazar said no students had been suspended as of Monday, but the probe was continuing.
A few weeks ago, a Confederate flag was hoisted up a school flagpole in the middle of the night, Salazar said.
And the MySpace.com pages of two Centauri students contained images of the Confederate flag. One boy’s site linked to another with a photo of four boys holding guns in one hand and making a Nazi stiff-armed salute with the other.
Hunt could not be reached for comment. The Alamosa Valley Courier reported that he said he had filed a complaint against the school with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 970-385-0917 or edraper@denverpost.com.
