MINOT – Expulsion of two boys accused of planning to shoot students and teachers at Minot Consolidated School should have been automatic and mandatory, school officials were told at a public meeting attended by about 150 people.

“These kids do not belong in a school if they’re going to bring guns, or if they’re thinking about bringing guns,” said Ed Boothby, parent of a fourth-grader. “What kind of message are we sending if there’s even a possibility that they could come back?”

Police arrested two 15-year-old boys before school Monday after being told Saturday about a gun and a plan to shoot six students and two teachers named on a list.

The information was provided by pupils who had told their parents about the plot. A pellet gun was found in a locker.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, parents wanted assurances from school officials that the boys facing charges will be kept out of school and out of the Androscoggin County town of about 2,200.

The crowd applauded when Boothby, the first parent to speak, told the school committee that no expulsion hearing needed to occur because it should have been mandatory.

“Even if they are expelled from school, are they going to be still at large?” asked another parent, Bill Clark. “How am I going to protect my kids if they’re down the street?”

School officials held the meeting to tell parents what steps have been taken to ensure the safety of about 300 students in the kindergarten through eighth-grade school. Officials from the county Sheriff’s Department also attended.

Restraining orders have been issued to both boys to keep them away from the school and pupils. As of Monday, the teenagers were suspended for 10 days and will be the subjects of a closed expulsion hearing on March 9, School Union 29 Superintendent Nina Schlikin said.

One boy is under house arrest. The other had been placed in a juvenile facility and is in a boarding facility for at least two weeks, according to information provided Wednesday.

At the school, additional building security measures have been put in place, counseling is being provided, and a police officer has been assigned to the school since Monday, Principal Don Bilodeau said in a written summary.

“As tragic as this is in our little town, it could have been incredibly more tragic,” said Bilodeau. “The biggest lesson learned from this is that we need to encourage students to talk with their parents and with their teachers.”