Councilwoman Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer commended Freehold Borough police and school district staff on their safe and speedy plan of action after a written threat was discovered.

Late Monday morning, parents of Freehold Borough students received an alert that the Park Avenue Elementary School and Freehold Intermediate School were evacuated due to a bomb threat.

Freehold Borough Schools Superintendent Elizabeth O’Connell confirmed that a threat was found in the form of a note in one of a boy’s bathrooms in the Park Avenue school.

Freehold Borough Police immediately responded to the school and searched it while students were transported to a safe off-site location. Once police deemed the school safe, students were allowed to return to their classroom for the remainder of the day.

Shutzer said police and school staff handle the evacuation with professionalism.

“I want to congratulate and thank the staff at the two schools and the police department for the excellent work that was done today,” Shutzer said. “It is admirable that the school is so well prepared for this. When I picked up my grandson, we didn’t even discuss it. He thought it was just a normal thing and that is why they need to be congratulated. They [staff] just go about their work of getting those kids to safety and the police just move in.”

Monday's bomb threat, comes a year after the Feb. 2, 2012 bomb threat at the Park Avenue Elementary School.