Tuesday's threat at the Los Angeles Unified School District left many parents scrambling to find alternative child care even as school officials urged employers to be flexible with families impacted by the campus closures.
Some parents said the decision to shut down all campuses inconvenienced them, but said they'd rather be safe than sorry.
"This is the best thing that's happened in my life ... that's scary stuff," said Anthony Karzon. "I got a phone call from my sister telling me not to bring him."
Maria Fernandez, a teacher at LAUSD who was about to drop off her daughter at school when they got the call early Tuesday morning.
"It was scary at the beginning," she said. She was able to stay home and take care of her daughter, but she worried about other parents.
Luis Rios took the day off and pulled out his first grader out of Burbank schools even though Burbank did not cancel school.
"We were just concerned," he said. "Better safe than sorry. I cannot be at work, thinking about him."
It's that concern that had hundreds of thousands of parents scrambling to pick up kids and somehow manage what to do with that. At the Dream Center in Echo Park, the center opened its doors to dozens of displaced kids who parents had to get back to work."
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Sharon Sandoval said the threat frightened her, but she didn't have the luxury of leaving work for the day. She said she is happy the center helped out and believes LAUSD took the right action despite other cities deeming it not creditable.
"It's scary," she said. "Happening in your own backyard."
Cynthia Cruz agrees said that despite New York not taking the threat seriously, she said kids' safety should come first.
