A bomb threat complicates lives in LA, where the typical parent isn’t a ‘soccer mom or dad driving a Volvo’

The parents of many Los Angeles students were in a tailspin today, after the LA Unified School District decided to shutter its campuses in the wake of what officials called a "credible threat." 

One reason for the added anxiety: the Los Angeles area schools are unlike most others. 

"The LA Unified School District is not necessarily where your typical parent is a soccer mom and dad driving a Volvo, or an SUV," says Saul Gonzalez of station KCRW. "These are a lot of very hard working people who work in a restaurant sector, or work in local factories. It's harder for them to get off work, simply because they don't have the kind of jobs where they can just go ask the boss, 'Hey, I have to leave for an hour or two to retrieve my child.'"

A LA School Board member first learned of the threat Tuesday morning via an email. The threat apparently targeted multiple schools in the heavily immigrant district. 

School officials quickly notified parents, although the first language in many area homes isn't English. 

"These are parents that even on the best of days may not fully understand what's happening in the schools.  So you throw something like this at them, and say, 'Hey, we're going to have a mass evacuation, please get your child as quickly as possible,' it's a real challenge for them," Gonzalez says. "A lot of them are relying on public transportation."  

Venice High School senior Leslie Ramirez was confused when her usual school bus didn't arrive. 

"So I decided to go on the metro," she told Gonzalez. "I was thinking I'm going to be late today and I have finals, and when I arrive the whole school is empty."  

Ramirez's parents are Spanish speakers. They spent the morning retrieving three kids from different parts of the sprawling city. 

Area residents have been jittery since the terrorist attack in nearby San Bernardino two weeks ago.

Still, some are questioning whether authorities had sufficient evidence to close all of LA's schools. New York officials said they got a similar threat and quickly determined it was a hoax and went along with business as usual.

"There are already conversations starting to happen as to whether or not this was necessary to evacuate all the schools, to close all the schools for the day," Gonzalez says. "But I think a lot of people are saying, frankly, 'Yeah, right on. Do that, do whatever you think you have to do to keep our kids safe.' Because  you know it's been a crazy last few weeks both in this country and around the world."