Medford Cancels School Monday

MEDFORD, MA – Students in Medford will have one more day of winter break as the district's staff meets Monday for a professional development day. The school committee on Thursday canceled school to allow the district to address security concerns after a gun magazine found at McGlynn Middle School went unreported to some city officials for weeks.

McGlynn Principal Jake Edwards has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into why the Dec. 29 discovery was first reported to Medford Mayor Stephanie M. Burke and Police Chief Leo Sacco last Friday, Feb. 16.

According to Burke, the magazine was loaded with "at least one bullet."

In a statement earlier this week, Medford Superintendent of Schools Roy Belson said a cleaning company found the magazine under a seat in the school theater. It was turned over to the school custodian, who locked it in the principal's office.

The following day Edwards said he cleaned his office and threw several items away that could have held the magazine, according to Belson. The school resource officer and Belson were directly notified, but Sacco was not.

No weapons or drugs were found during a search of McGlynn on Tuesday. Seventeen law enforcement teams comprised of officers and K-9 units searched the remaining schools in the district Thursday and deemed them safe, Sacco said at a press conference.

Belson has previously said he was wrong not to report the magazine to the mayor and police chief. He told the crowd at Thursday's meeting he made a mistake and "that will never happen again as long as I’m in this role," according to the Boston Globe.

Some people who spoke called the Belson's firing, the Globe reported. The longtime superintendent is set to retire at the end of the school year after 23 years.

Anyone with information about the clip is asked to come forward.

Image via Shutterstock