Penfield CSD addresses ‘threatening and vulgar' messages

Yahoo

13-03-2025

Editor's Note: The full list of messages, which was sent out by the district to families, can be viewed at the bottom of this article. Please note some of the material may be offensive or disturbing to read. The district has redacted vulgar language.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Penfield Central School District addressed messages sent to the district, which officials described as threatening and vulgar in nature, this week after a contentious board meeting last month.
The district sent a letter to families on Friday and provided censored examples of the messages that they received, which they said included racist language and violent content. Penfield Superintendent Dr. Tasha Potter said they cannot share more details as investigations continue, but they emphasized that safety is their priority.
Last month, the school district canceled some meetings due to the threats. They said those threats were sent via email and voicemail. The threats came following a school board meeting where parents had concerns over a book called 'The Rainbow Parade,' which, according to the description, follows a child free to express their gender identity during a pride parade.
Hannah Pascucci has two kids in the district. She told News 8 Wednesday that having concerns is valid, but she said she believes this was not the way parents should have approached it.
'I couldn't talk to my teenager about the messages the district received because they were so upsetting,' she said. 'They {the school} had to pull the high schooler who was on the board because it wasn't safe for that student anymore. That's so distressing.'
Pascucci also made note that she's worried about the future of the board, and hopes this doesn't stop people from running and keeping a healthy school board with different perspectives and opinions.
We also spoke to a Penfield resident, Erica Cortese, who said she was at that board meeting that night in February.
'What I saw is a room filled with parents ready to talk to the board and air their concerns, and the board from the get-go acted like they didn't want to hear what they had to say to begin with. This all was started with them leaving the room,' she said.
Other parents who reached out to News 8 said they were worried about the safety of the students as well as the administrators.
Earlier this month, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office told News 8 that none of the threats rose to the level of criminality.
You can read the full statement from Dr. Potter below:
Dear Penfield Families,We have received multiple FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests regarding the vulgar and threatening emails and communications recently directed toward the District. While we are unable to share specific details about each communication due to the ongoing criminal investigations, we want to be transparent with our community. Therefore, we are providing redacted examples of the types of messages that we have received and continue to receive (see below).Although we have received many negative messages, I also want to recognize the overwhelming number of positive messages of love, care, and kindness we have received. I believe it is these messages that truly reflect the values of our community, and the values that we want to instill in our children. Please know that we deeply appreciate these messages of support.As we navigate these challenging times, we encourage families to have conversations at home about the importance of civil discourse, especially when addressing hate. We will continue to work with local and state law enforcement, as well as community partners, to ensure the safety and well-being of our District.
You can read the messages sent below in full, please note, some of the content may be disturbing to viewers.
redacted_sampling_of_hate_messages_2025Download
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.