PHILLIPSBURG ? When a bomb threat turned up March 21 at Phillipsburg Junior High School, authorities didn’t just evacuate the school. Surrounding businesses were emptied and traffic on a nearby highway was rerouted for the day.

Now, a veteran teacher has been accused of making the threat and could lose her job.

Jan Johnson, a fifth-grade teacher with 26 years of experience, was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated criminal threat, according to the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office. She made her first appearance in district court Friday afternoon and was released on $25,000 bond.

While bomb threats at schools aren’t uncommon, many turn out to be student pranks. If Johnson is convicted, the hoax takes on a new level of seriousness, Phillipsburg Supt. Bill Grimes said.

Grimes said he was not aware of any disciplinary issues with Johnson, either during her years at the junior high or local elementary school.

On the morning of March 21, a teacher not Johnson told Riffel there was a handwritten note in the girls’ locker room that said, “Bomb in the building. Get out now.”

The 220 students and staff were evacuated to a church, and traffic on U.S. Highway 36 was rerouted. Nearby businesses were emptied, parents were alerted by radio of an emergency at the school and a Capitol Police officer and his bomb-sniffing dog were flown in from Topeka.

After a 90-minute search, no bomb was found