By James Lomuscio
One month to the day that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings shocked the nation and the world, several Westport parents tonight offered suggestions and voiced concerns to the Board of Education which has requested a $50,000 school security audit.
Parent Robert Cantor suggested teachers be armed with “long distance Mace.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
A couple of parents suggested that school security is lax, with parent Neil Phillips saying he can walk into a school building to pick up his child without having to sign in.
Another parent suggested the board should post plainclothes police officers in schools, the cost he said would be but a minor blip in a town with what he described as low commercial property taxes.
Parent Robert Cantor also offered one of the more dramatic suggestions: arming teachers with “long distance Mace.”
“And have the police train them,” he said. ” …Something to blind the perpetrators.”
He also suggested having police officers on school duty during lunch since cafeterias have the potential to become “a shooting gallery.”
Jane Raba, who has a son at the Saugatuck Elementary School, questioned the wisdom of teachers conducting a “no fire drill” where children “huddle in a corner” in the event of an armed intruder. She argued such a tactic could prove deadly.
She also said that she did not object to armed police in our schools, saying that urban schools employ such measures, and “our children are accustomed to seeing machine guns at Grand Central Terminal.”
“It’s only the suburban schools that are left out of security at this point,” she said.
Sue Calger, Kings Highway Elementary School PTA president, however, said that “rules and procedures are in place.” She also stressed that parents have to follow them.
For example, Calger described the scene of an impatient parent insisting on pulling her child out of school during a safety drill.
Ginny McGovern, PTA Council co-president, reiterated that Westport’s schools have plans and procedures in place, while underscoring the sobering reality that no policies can guarantee to keep children “24/7 safe.”
According to Elaine Whitney, school board chairwoman, the last time the school board had a complete security audit was five years ago.
On Jan. 2, the Board of Finance authorized $50,000 for an updated schools security survey. The request goes to the Representative Town Meeting on Feb. 5.
Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff said he has asked to expand the survey to Town Hall and other town facilities, possibly requiring additional authorized funding.
May I suggest a new sound alarm. Children and Faculty know to exit a building in case of a fire when they hear an alarm. How about a lockdown or intruder alert sound bite. It would be very cost efficient and easy to implement.
Great idea!
Go one step further and add a panic button in each classroom.
Even better, when an intruder alarm goes off the classrooms all lock from the hallway side.
Plenty that can be done to secure the children while at school.