At the first Board meeting of the new year, President David Brashear began with a moment of silence to honor and remember those who died in the Newtown shooting. He expressed support for the District's efforts to "uncover opportunities for improved security" and encouraged residents to observe established procedures at the school. This set the stage for Assistant Superintendent John Kehoe's report about Safety Committee deliberations. The Committee meets monthly and includes representatives from the staff, parents, Board of Education, fire and
police.
Dr. Kehoe began by acknowledging the heightened sense of vulnerability stemming from the cumulative effect of violent events over the past year. These concerns are juxtaposed with a long tradition of openness at the school, including open access at pick-up and drop-off times and open campus at lunch times. Dr. Kehoe explained that the District has a comprehensive safety plan and went on to describe what improvements would make sense in our local context. Current approaches include (but are not limited to) greeters at each entry, security cameras, after hours security services, regular drills, swipe card readers to control door access, and an upgraded public address system.
Several additional options were discussed at the Safety Committee's most recent meeting:
- Increased police presence on campus, including fields and ground protection.
- New technology, including panic buttons at each major entrance, permitting direct emergency communication with the police station; buzz-in systems; and further use of swipe card access.
- Changing access at certain entrances before and after schools
- More after-hours security
- Police access to school security cameras in the event of emergency.
Some of these items are relatively easy and inexpensive to implement. Other options will require additional feedback and dialogue, and the discussion will continue at the next regular Safety Committee meeting in February.
