Boca-area elementary school bans parent after threats to staff, anti-Semitic remarks

A Boca Raton-area elementary school has banned a parent from campus and upped security following the man's visit to the school where he made antisemitic comments and threats to school staff, according to documents obtained from the school district.

Whispering Pines Elementary Principal Barbara Riemer notified families Friday, Aug. 23 that there would be an increased police presence on campus following the parent's Aug. 16 visit to campus and subsequent social media posts.

Riemer has not named the parent, and his name was redacted from documents provided by the school district to protect the privacy of his child. The documents did not provide a transcript of what he said when he came to the school's front office.

Additionally, parents said they raised issues with the principal after seeing social media posts by the man regarding the school and Jewish people. In a response to parents, Riemer called his online comments "deeply offensive to many in our community."

Riemer said in another note to parents Monday, Aug. 26, that the parent did not pose a specific threat to the school campus. She has not publicly detailed the contents of his social media posts.

Two parents told The Palm Beach Post that they did not send their students to school this week out of fear for their children's safety. They were not willing to share their names, concerned about the safety of their children.

In response, Riemer issued a note to parents regarding the school's safety measures.

"I want to reiterate my confidence in our campus safety protocols. Whispering Pines Elementary School has a designated School Police officer, a single point of entry, and a variety of other security measures in place to support the safety and security of the campus," she wrote in a note to parents.

"All visitors are required to enter through the single point of entry and to wear identification badges. Our well-trained staff are equipped with a crisis alert button that immediately informs police and school administrators if there is an incident on campus."

This story will be updated.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca-area elementary school bans parent after threats to staff, anti-Semitic remarks