Rumored school violence never materialized yesterday, but an estimated 250,000 Maryland students -- either fearful of the threats or enjoying a warm spring day -- abandoned their desks in what state officials called "unprecedented" absenteeism.

About 30 percent of the state's students missed school, said officials, who were still tallying attendance figures. In some schools -- such as Glen Burnie High in Anne Arundel County -- more than half the students did not show up for class.

"We have families that are distraught -- my phone has been ringing all morning," said Cyndy Little, director of pupil services in Carroll County. "I've had 35 calls from parents who are upset -- I have been telling parents that I've got a seventh-grader and my kid is in school today."

"This is totally unprecedented," Ronald A. Peiffer, spokesman for the State Department of Education, said."Other than bad weather, I can't recall anything like this."

Statewide, the average absentee rate is about 8 percent in high schools, and 4 percent for middle and elementary schools.

The mass absences -- triggered by rumors of violence on May 10 -- were the latest disruption to afflict Maryland schools since the killings in Littleton, Colo. Officials ordered a one-day postponement of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program achievement tests, scheduled to begin yesterday for third- and eighth-graders. Though the number of threats seems to have eased recently, more were reported yesterday.

In Howard County, a 17-year-old junior at Centennial Lane High School was charged with willful disturbance of school activities after police said he told a student that he was late to class because he had placed a bomb in a trash can. In Baltimore, where nine bomb threats were reported, a 10-year-old pupil at Govans Elementary School was arrested.

With tensions high, school life was altered and educators faced some unusual questions.

As fifth-grader Tommy McChesney, 11, headed into Columbia's Running Brook Elementary School, he asked one of his teachers: "Are we going to die?" The answer was a quick and emphatic "No."

At Severna Park High School, where more than 300 students were absent, parent volunteers were stationed in the halls, police were positioned outside main entrances and bomb squad dogs patrolled the school. Students said a priest, pastor and rabbi were on hand to talk to worried students.

"All the doors to the outside were locked," said freshman Michelle Swartz, 15. "We couldn't even walk through the courtyard in between classes."

School officials said many students who skipped school yesterday feared that rumors of shootings and bombings would come true. But some may have used the threats as an excuse for the traditional "senior skip day," the first school day after a weekend prom.

"It's probably a combination of both," said David Hill, principal of Glen Burnie High School, where 1,183 of 1,999 students stayed home. "We have virtually no seniors here."

In Baltimore, Southwestern High School had one of the highest absentee rates -- 62 percent of its students missed school. Across town at Patterson High School, English teacher Greg Ekey said he had taught only 17 ninth-graders in three periods -- a situation that was frustrating but allowed some students to get extra attention.

Some educators were disappointed by the results of a weeklong campaign to assure parents that their children were safe in school. Still, they were relieved that there were no surprises during the school day.

"This confirms that it was all unsubstantiated rumors," said Nancy S. Grasmick, state schools superintendent. "And I am very excited that many parents and students stood up to all of this and did not allow themselves to become victims of irresponsible behavior."

Confronting the threats wasn't easy.

A group of friends talking outside Severna Park High offered a range of emotions about attending school on the rumored "day of doom."

"I was scared," said sophomore Melissa Beall, 15. "But my mom made me come. She said that it was just a prank and we shouldn't give in to it."

"Well, I never thought anything would happen," said sophomore Jackie Kammerer, 15.

Students at Anne Arundel's Old Mill High School, where 44 percent of the students were absent, described the hallways and classrooms as "deserted."

Said Lisa Paska, 15: "We had classes with 10 kids in them when there was normally 30. Our teacher said she would just have to give the notes over again tomorrow when the rest of the class is here."

"There were five police cars here when we drove up this morning," said ninth-grader Stephanie Laning. "And it kind of took our breath away when [the principal] announced during lunch that they were going to search the cafeteria."

In Baltimore County, the absentee rate was 18.4 percent -- about triple the daily average, said Charles Herndon, spokesman for the school district. That rate included all but two schools -- Chadwick Elementary and Perry Hall High School, which had not turned in attendance figures by the end of the day.

Howard County school administrators said the absentee rate was 29 percent, with 31 percent absent from high schools and middle schools, and 22 percent absent from elementary schools. The average rate is normally less than 10 percent, Howard school spokeswoman Patti Caplan said.

Schools in Carroll County experienced the highest absentee rate of the year, said Little, who reluctantly released attendance figures yesterday afternoon. Concerned about the hysteria generated by rumors, she called the school board's attorney in an attempt to withhold the figures.

"We have got to put an end to this -- every time we put this in the newspaper, it keeps this story alive," Little said.

Little said Francis Scott Key High School had an absentee rate of 28 percent, while 23.5 percent of Northwest Middle School students missed school. Other schools with double-digit absentee rates included Taneytown Elementary, and Mount Airy and North Carroll middle schools.

While police and state school officials reported no major incidents, the day was not totally uneventful.

Two bomb threats were reported at Howard High School. The first, which came before 9: 30 a.m., is believed to have been called in to the school. The second was reported by a student to the principal's office based on a comment by another student. On both occasions, the school was evacuated while the police searched for a bomb, but nothing was found.

Two bomb threats were called into Western School of Technology in Catonsville, according to Baltimore County police. The school was briefly evacuated for the first threat, said county police spokesman Bill Toohey, but not for the second.

A third threat was reported at Patapsco High School, Toohey said, but turned out to be a note from last week that had not been reported.

Though no one knows where the May 10 rumors began, student concerns mirrored the tragic events in Colorado.

Swartz, of Severna Park High School, said she had heard that "jocks, Jews and preppies" would be the targets of rumored violence. Beall said she had heard the attack would take place about lunchtime, as in Colorado.

The students all said they had been told by school officials to not wear sports uniforms or hats to school.

"It's weird," Swartz said. "The administration spent so much time taking our fears away by telling us how many protections would be in place. But then, they turn around and warn us not to wear 'target' clothes. For me, that just reinstilled the fears all over again."

Staff writers Liz Bowie, Jill Hudson Neal, Melody Simmons, Kirsten Scharnberg, Dail Willis and Nancy Youssef contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 5/11/99