Door remains open on future plans for school security

CORNWALL — The debate, and it has truly become one, over whether or not to lock the front door at Cornwall Consolidated School continues. Parents, and a former student, spoke on both sides of the issue for 45 minutes during the public comment portion of the Feb. 18 Board of Education meeting. The majority of people opposed the idea. However, a parent in favor of increased security said she was there speaking on behalf of a number of parents.

The overall tone was one of respect for differing opinions, and a need to continue the debate.

Common ground was reached during a discussion with the board later in the meeting, with everyone agreeing there is no apparent immediate risk. They agreed that the whole security issue bears further scrutiny.

Principal Robert Vaughan had to leave early, so there was not really an opportunity for the board members to move forward that night anyway. It is possible the board will appoint a safety committee, rather than put all the work on the new principal.

Vaughan proposed a bump-up in security last September, as his first school year here got underway. It was in great part a response to security measures in place at most of the other Region One elementary schools. He was taken aback by a strong reaction when he presented his idea at a PTA meeting that month. Some parents were strongly opposed to the suggestion that Cornwall is not a safe place for children to live and attend school.

In January, Vaughan recommended a motion sensor be installed in the main hallway. Visitors would activate a bell in the main office. Board members voted the idea down, reasoning that it was a flawed method of preventing unwanted people in the school.

Informational e-mails that initiated with the PTA circulated among parents. Many got the impression that Vaughan’s recommendation to the board had been approved and implemented,  according to Lib Terrall. The general reaction was one of acceptance.

But when word got around that the board had rejected the proposal, strong feelings were reignited. Eleven parents commented at the meeting. A not-surprising pattern is emerging: longtime Cornwall residents generally oppose locked doors, newer residents are less comfortable without security.

Parent and former board member Jim Terrall spoke at length, saying he thought Vaughan’s proposal was a “reasonable compromise� that he was willing to live with. He suggested the real problem has not been identified. He referred to Vaughan’s research, which shows that elementary schools are rarely faced with the threat of “deranged strangers.�

“If that were the issue, we’d have to go a lot further than a camera and buzzer. A metal detector and a security guard at the door is the only real way to keep trouble out,� Terrall said. “The real issues are usually with people who are known to the school, such as with family custody issues. The Pine Plains incident is a good example. That guy was a parent, and he was buzzed in.�

Last fall, a Pine Plains man entered the middle school/high school with a gun under his coat and held the school principal hostage for several hours.

“I don’t want my kids to go to school in an atmosphere of fear,� Terrall continued. “In Cornwall, we haven’t bought into everything being about fear.�

Parent Peter Busby wondered who would make the decision about buzzing people in and what would happen if someone was denied.

“If we lock the doors, we are saying it’s not safe and we can’t let the kids go out to the picnic table on warm days,� Busby said.

Selectman Richard Bramley said he agreed that the principal’s proposal was reasonable, and added his own take on the matter.

“This should be looked at as a whole safety issue, not just a security issue,� he said, making reference to other aspects of school life, such as sports and buses.

Parent Rob Budny offered yet another perspective, saying the deterrent factor of having security may be great, even if it cannot be measured.

“I don’t think kids live in fear in a locked school,� Budny said. “I know people who are amazed the school is so open.�

He said that thousands of schools across the country, including those in neighboring towns, have security plans.

But Lib Terrall saw that trend in a different light. Having worked in a secured hospital psychiatric ward, she has spoken to security system salesmen.

“It’s about marketing,� she said. “He told me he just has to get one school to buy a system, and everyone else feels they need it.

“I am stunned by the statistics,� she added. “They are not even remotely compelling enough to warrant security. It will just create unwarranted paranoia, and once the paranoia starts, it’s hard to reverse it.�

Parent Stacey Marin, who said she was speaking for a group of parents in support of increased security, said it is simply a matter of “best practices.�

“The people in favor are not fearmongers and they are not paranoid,� Marin said. “It’s comparable to a sprinkler system. It doesn’t guarantee a building won’t burn down, but it’s another layer of safety. A buzz-in system puts the school more in control of the environment.�

A few parents suggested money spent on security measures could be better spent elsewhere.

But Vaughan has advised that it wouldn’t cost much to put some simple security systems in place. A door buzzer is already in place, installed basically as a doorbell and could be used with some modifications as a camera and buzz-in system, for example.

The matter will be added to the agenda of a March 1 budget workshop, set for 8:30 a.m. at the school.