Timberline Community Update

Dear Timberline Community,

This has been an incredibly difficult week for the Timberline community. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the student who was the target of the disturbing threats of violence that brought us to this point. No student should ever be subjected to threats of this nature, and we recognize the fear, hurt, and emotional impact this situation has had on the student, the family, and our broader school community. The safety, dignity, and well-being of every student remain our highest priorities.

As we move forward, we want to provide clarity about the decision to cancel this week's football game, share our plans for next week, and address some of the concerns surrounding the Timberline football program.

The decision to cancel the football game was about safety for our students and the recognition that our entire community needs a moment to process what has happened so we can move forward together. While the individuals will be held accountable for their actions, the decision to cancel was not a disciplinary action against the Timberline football team.

Let’s talk about the safety situation first. Over the weekend and throughout the week, we have seen and heard a lot of negative, threatening, and highly emotional thoughts expressed throughout the community either on social media, local and national media, as well as messages and phone calls to school and district staff. Taken together, it was clear that we couldn’t risk the safety of our student athletes or their families and friends by holding an event of this size at a public venue. Given the overall atmosphere, even the field on Timberline’s campus is not designed or equipped to provide the safe and controlled environment we would need and  our community deserves.

In addition to creating very real safety and security concerns, the level of emotion experienced over the week makes it clear that many of our families, students and community members need reassurance that there is support for those who need it and accountability for those responsible. This is also an opportunity to take a collective breath and consider the impact angry, hateful and threatening words have on every one of us in the community. Advocating for violence against anyone will not allow us to heal as a community. 

We hope it is clear why the game was cancelled and most of our homecoming activities postponed. Safety and wellbeing were at the top of our mind, not the punishment of the entire football program, school, or the many student-athletes who were not involved.

What’s Next

As we look ahead, the Homecoming Dance will take place this Saturday, and the Homecoming activities that were postponed this week will be held next week. Next week's football game will be played as scheduled. Our students deserve to have the opportunity to participate in these important school experiences and for our community to begin returning to a sense of normalcy.

We also believe it is important to address the way this situation has sometimes been characterized as a “football team problem.” That characterization is not accurate.

The Timberline football coaches hold their student-athletes to high standards and work every day to be positive influences in the lives of the young people they coach. The actions and poor choices of individual students should not define an entire team, coaching staff, or school community.

This does not minimize the seriousness of the circumstances that brought us to this point. Timberline High School and law enforcement have taken appropriate steps throughout the past week to investigate and address the situation. And that process will continue. Accountability matters, and those processes will continue.

We can hold individuals accountable for their choices while also supporting the many students, coaches, staff members, and families who had no involvement in those choices.

As we move into next week, our focus will remain on safety, accountability, supporting our students and staff, and bringing the Timberline community back together.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support of our students and the Timberline community.

Sincerely,

Chad Wright

Timberline High School Principal

Shelley Bonds

Timberline Area Director

Wendy Johnson

Boise School District Superintendent