No solutions, much discussion of security plans for schools

FALLS VILLAGE — The Region One Board of Education addressed school security during the regular monthly meeting Monday, Jan. 7, at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS).Board Chairman Phil Hart of Cornwall opened the meeting by praising Region One administrators and staff for their work immediately after the Dec.14 shootings in Newtown, Conn.“I was very confident that things were happening here that needed to happen,” Hart said.HVRHS Principal Matt Harnett read a letter to the board from six of the seven school principals in Region One (the high school and all the elementary schools except Lee H. Kellogg in Falls Village).The letter states that Region One Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain’s response was prompt and effective. “From the first moments of media coverage, Ms. Chamberlain phoned schools to advise, offer support and reassurance and answer questions.”The principals note that the decision was made to keep school open and a “message of calm and reassurance was communicated to parents through the region’s alert system.”The letter goes on to describe (as Chamberlain did later in the meeting in her report) how Region One administrators met with the selectmen and emergency management directors in each of the six Region One towns.Region One received assistance from Kyle Harris, “a U.S. Army soldier who communicated with a second-grade class at North Canaan while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan,” the letter continues.Harris, now assigned to the federal Department of Homeland Security, arrived from Virginia on Dec. 17 to review school safety plans and offer advice.Chamberlain, in her report, said that emergency response plans for all seven schools in Region One have been reviewed and in some cases adjusted. “We’re in the process of assessing school vulnerabilities, strengths and weaknesses.”She also said that Region One will be addressing the larger questions of violence and mental health.The meeting agenda had an executive session on school security as the last item. Mike Flint of Salisbury (filling in for Scooter Tedder) asked Chamberlain if there was a timeline for security reviews.Chamberlain said that was up to each town school board. Flint said he was concerned about perimeter and building security.“We need a plan that secures all our kids at all times. These nutjobs don’t care when they assault.”He was skeptical about the need for and effectiveness of an executive session on security, and said that for parents an executive session is not enough.He urged the board and administration “to set benchmarks” for school security improvements and not get bogged down in studying the problem.“Building security is not something we can afford to lose time on.”He also suggested a public forum for parents, with as many details as possible.Region One Business Manager Sam Herrick said that he and Chamberlain had attended a meeting on school security in Southington earlier that day, and that the question of security and public input and information was a major topic.He said the consensus was to get public input but to be careful about disclosing specifics on school security.“We are now in a different world and we have to treat the schools differently,” he said.During the first public comment period, Marshall Miles suggested using the high school as a central location for a public forum on gun safety. He said such an event, with experts on the subject, would help “put people at ease.”“This is an area where people hunt and have guns.” Note: Housatonic junior Henry Yuliano wrote a song about the Newtown shootings and performed it in that town last month. The song can be found via a link on the high school’s website, www.hvrhs.org.