By James Lomuscio
Fifteen months after the Newtown school shootings, Westport’s Board of Finance tonight unanimously approved School Superintendent Elliott Landon’s request for $200,000 to replace each school’s interior door locks with high security ones, as recommended by Kroll Security Advisors.
But the approval did not come without criticism over why it took so long to get to this point, since the Newtown shootings took place in December 2012.
“It just seems to me it took a long time,” said Michael Rea, finance board member, noting that the Stamford Public Schools has similar locks installed last summer.
“I would urge you to move as expeditiously as possible,” he added about other security measures.
Landon countered that while the schools have been “slow and deliberate” on this matter, a lot of behind-the-scenes work has been done with Kroll and a school security team that includes Police Chief Dale Call, Deputy Chief Foti Koskinas and Deputy Fire Chief Robert Kepchar, who was present at the meeting with Fire Marshall Edward Zygmant.
“I know we’ve been slow and deliberate on this, but this is so important, we didn’t want to rush into this,” said Landon, who came under criticism soon after the Newtown shootings for not including Westport police in the initial discussions with the Kroll firm.
Rea acknowledged that his criticism was not to imply Landon was not doing a thorough job, just not moving fast enough.
Finance board member Brian Stern came to Landon’s defense, calling it “a false logic” that just because the Board of Finance had not until tonight had an appropriation request to implement school security measures, that little has been accomplished.
“The impression that nothing is being done is false,” Stern said.
“Thank you, Brian,” Landon responded, adding that the school system’s relationship with the Police Department “has never been better.”
However, Finance Board Chairman John Pincavage did not let Landon off the hook so easily. He said that the school system should keep the finance board in the loop as to what future security appropriations requests might be, “so we have some idea of what’s coming down the road.”
“We need some clarity as to how things are going to turn out,” he said.
In other matters, the finance board unanimously approved First Selectman Jim Marpe’s appropriation request of $5,000 to complete the installation of performance quality state lighting in the Town Hall auditorium. Marpe noted that a $7,000 cost had been offset by a donation from Westport resident and arts booster Ann Sheffer.
The board also voted unanimously to approve Public Works Director Stephen Edwards’ request for $150,000 to replace a municipal tractor Edwards said would last 10 years.
