SAN ANTONIO -- A teacher at a Hill Country school has alleged that the principal of her middle school threatened her and other teachers' lives if benchmark test scores did not improve.

Anita White said she, along with three other teachers at New Braunfels Middle School, were in principal John Burks' office on Jan. 21 because he was unhappy about the school's scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and other benchmarks.

"He stated if the scores were not to his liking, he would kill us all and then kill himself," White said. "He was very emphatic, he was not laughing, he was not being funny.

"The last thing he said (was) you just don't know how ruthless I can be."

White said that wasn't the only time she felt threatened. She said that just before Spring Break, she was summoned to Burks' office and reassigned immediately to the district's alternative school designed to educate disruptive students.

"The day he dismissed me, he looked at me again and said, 'I told you I was ruthless,'" she said. "I left terrified again, I'm still scared."

A spokeswoman for the New Braunfels Independent School District said they would not comment on the alleged incident, citing personnel issues. Through the district official, Burks denied making any verbal threats.

One school parent said the accusation is impossible to believe since Burks has made changes that have been good for the community.

"John Burks is a wonderful principal and I have been really, really proud of him," Ellen Duncan said. "I just can't even imagine that would be anything that would come from him."

Police are investigating the incident, according to a city official, while White has said she will be filing a grievance with the district and is considering a civil lawsuit.