A week of increased security at a number of Nanaimo’s schools will end today after school officials and the RCMP determined the risk didn’t warrant further action.

Donna Reimer, a spokeswoman for the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district, said a threat assessment concluded extra security was no longer required at Dover Bay and Nanaimo District secondary schools, Cilaire Elementary School and the district’s administration centre.

The extra security was put in place Feb. 5.

A former teacher in the district, Francies Willem Van Der Voort Maarschalk, was recently sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading guilty to a charge of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm to staff members.

While no direct threats were made against the schools, security measures were undertaken following threat-assessment protocols that the district recently established with the RCMP.

Liz Laidlaw, a mother of two students at Cilaire school, said she understands the need for increased security at schools when threats are made.

But the RCMP and the school district need to communicate with parents more clearly, she said.

“It’s always better safe than sorry, and the RCMP and school district made it clear that there were reasons to be concerned,” she said.

“But parents had to put the pieces together to figure out what was going on.”

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