METUCHEN — Students who showed up at the high school for the Homecoming Dance on Oct. 25 found themselves being sent back home.
Metuchen High School officials sent a message out to students through its Honeywell Alert System, breaking the news.
“It was called off maybe 40 minutes before the dance was set to go off,” school Principal Bruce Peragallo said.
A message on the high school’s website cited a low number of advance ticket sales as a reason for the cancellation.
“However, that was not the only reason,” the message states. “Late yesterday, we were informed that a threat was made by some students, which, at the time, we were unable to substantiate.”
According to Peragallo, teachers were stationed at the door to turn away any students who hadn’t received the message in time.
“Obviously, they were disappointed, but I think they understood,” he said.
The Metuchen Police Department investigated the threat and deemed it false, according to school officials.
“Now that the police are done with it, it’s a student matter at the high school,” Superintendent of Schools Vincent Caputo said.
Peragallo added that school officials were satisfied with the police investigation. He said those at the school had conducted an internal investigation, as well.
School officials have yet to reschedule the dance, but Peragallo said it may be put off for a while, because the Student Council Snow Ball is set for the second week in December.
“We may be trying to look at scheduling it later in the year, maybe in February,” he said.
In that case, it would be themed a Homecoming/ Valentine’s Day dance, according to Peragallo.
As stated on the school website, advance ticket sales for the Homecoming Dance showed an unprecedented lag behind previous years, the principal said.