Bomb threat makeup days considered in Augusta

School officials in eastern Georgia are fed up with a rash of bomb threats this year.

The threats and resulting evacuations often cost money and class time, so much class time that students in Augusta may face an extended school year.

So, like makeup days for snow, they're considering recouping the lost class time by requiring students to stay in school longer during the school year.

Many of the the threats happen at middle schools.

Officials suspect that students make most of the threats.

They hope the makeup days would create peer pressure for the threats to stop, since the makeup days would cut into the students' summer vacation.

But some school board members are questioning whether extending the school year is the most appropriate and effective way to stop the problem, since a longer school year would mean an added cost to the school system.

They're also looking at other options, such as whether the drivers licenses of students caught making the threats can be removed, and if their parents can be fined.