Menlo-Atherton High School officials notified parents of M-A students in a Dec. 5 email that the school had contacted Atherton police after someone found an unspecified threat written in a bathroom stall. The email didn't say when the threat was discovered.

"Throughout the last year, countywide there has been a pattern of non credible threats to school communities at all levels," Principal Simone Kennel wrote in the email.

“We immediately notified the Atherton Police Department and out of a preponderance of caution will follow procedures to work with their recommended protocols and have continued presence of our school resource officer on site,” Kennel said. “We will diligently keep you posted on any further information we receive.”

Police aren't sure when the graffiti first appeared and don't have any leads on the culprit since there were no cameras in the vicinity.

M-A's campus security has been making regular checks of the restrooms, Atherton Police Commander Joe Wade said in an email Dec. 6. Menlo Park officers have been in the area during school hours as well, he said.

"Essentially, our approach has been an increased security presence and an emphasis to the MAHS (Menlo-Atherton High School) staff to say something if they see something," he said.

Kennel said she informed students "any hoax or joke threats will warrant school discipline and legal consequences," she told parents in a Dec. 6 email. She also commended students for "bringing concerns to the school's attention" and reminded parents that the school offers support services.

Due to student privacy rights, Sequoia Union High School District the district cannot disclose further information on the threat or any student expulsions that may have resulted from it, spokesperson Ana Maria Pulido wrote in an email.

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