Repeated Threats Won't Keep Montco Christian School Closed

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — A private Christian school in this eastern Montgomery County community reopened its doors to in-person learning this week, after having been shuttered last week amid reported threats made by a minor, according to news reports.

Phil-Mont Christian Academy, which is located in Springfield Township and serves students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grades, reopened on Monday after it had closed last week after threats were reportedly made through email by a minor who is not enrolled in the school, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The story cited a letter that was sent home to parents of children who attend the school revealing the reported security threats experienced by the school last week.

Patch reached out to Phil-Mont Christian Academy but was told that the school is declining comment to the news media about the matter given that it is currently under investigation.

"Due to the nature of the situation and the ongoing investigation, the school has no official comment," Phil VanVeldhuizen, admissions and marketing manager for the school, wrote to Patch in an email.

The school also declined to provide Patch with the letter referenced by the Inquirer that had been sent home to parents about the week-long closure, saying the letter was meant to be a private correspondence between the school and parents.

It was unclear how the Inquirer obtained the letter, but a reporter might have been provided with the correspondence by a school parent.

Patch also reached out to the Springfield Township Police Department to try and get additional details about the incident.

A call was not returned by the time of the publication of this story.

The Inquirer reported that the threats were ultimately determined to be not credible, and the minor who made the threats does not attend the school, but officials nonetheless decided to take precautions when they made the decision to temporarily mandate at-home learning.

The school has reportedly hired private security firm Main Line Protection Services to help bolster security during this time.