Concerns About School Safety Aired at East Haven Meeting

EAST HAVEN, CT - In the first meeting the Board of Education has held since the shooting massacre at a Florida high school, a number of audience members expressed their concerns about what they said is lax safety procedures currently in place at East Haven schools.

The issue of school safety wasn't on the Board of Education's agenda, but when it came time on the agenda for those in the audience to speak their peace, school safety was clearly topic number one.

The board got an earful from the residents.

The comments the board heard ranged from one person asking why there wasn't any sort of school safety committee in place, to what type of safety equipment was at the schools, to what type of training the staff of each school has, to the large size of school classes.

Other comments included concerns from one person that the rear gate at the high school is often opened and unlocked for long periods of time, and not monitored. Someone else asked why when the schools were evacuated for events such as bomb scares the students leave with their backpacks on.

"What would happen if someone had a bomb in the backpack," that person asked. "It would be a disaster. Students should leave their backpacks in the classroom."

Another person told the board there had been talk on a social media site about a "hit list" at one of the schools, stating that when someone went to school administrators about that fact the person was told it was a hoax.

Another person asked the board if they had ever been to the high school during dismissal time. That person stated that students are allowed to exit "through any door." That same person wondered if officials were "waiting for a tragedy" before action was taken.

The minutes of the meeting don't reflect any response from school officials to the concerns about safety raised.