SAU 26, Police Reaffirm Commitment to School Safety

Among the items on tonight's school board agenda is a review of the proposed maintenance budget for 2013-14. It is there that the school board will discuss a proposal to build a secure entrance with a buzz-in lock system at James Mastricola Upper Elementary School – the only school in the district that does not have a secure entrance yet.

Superintendent Marge Chiafery said this recommended renovation to the school was in the 2013-14 proposed budget before Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Conn., and is a reminder that while the school and police have a comprehensive plan in place to keep Merrimack's children safe, there is still some work to be done.

Chiafery on Monday said a meeting was held first-thing Monday morning between herself, business administrator Matt Shevenell, Merrimack Police Capt. Mike Dudash, Merrimack Police Lts. Paul Trepaney and Denise Roy, School Resource Officers Mike Murray and Tom Prentice and a principal or assistant prinicipal from all six schools to reaffirm the security measures and protocols already in place in the district.

Given the nature of the continually-evolving situation on Friday and throughout the weekend, Chiafery said she didn't release a statement before today because she didn't know enough.

"On Friday, we could never have pulled off a meeting because it was all so fresh, it was this constantly changing thing, like a ball of yarn that was unrolling," Chiafery said.

She was in touch with the school principals over the weekend to offer support and discuss any concerns and this morning administrators met with their staff to discuss the shooting and how to address it, taking an approach of talking about it if students brought it up.

Each school has a crisis management team that was on standby if needed, Chiafery said, and her meeting with administrators and police allowed her to put together a communique that will go up on the SAU 26 Website and be sent home with elementary school students.

"We wanted to make sure we were there for the staff themselves and more importantly, for the children," Chiafery said. "We gave them resources to talk to students if they needed to, and if anyone needs resources here they are for the taking."

Of utmost importance is the safety, security and comfort of the students in the schools, Chiafery said, and the plans and protocols to make sure students and staff feel safe in school must be fluid as new things are learned from the tragedies that have occurred around the country.

In addition to having lockdown procedures in place and running drills for various emergecy protocols, Chiafery stressed the tight relationship between the schools and the police department as a key factor emergency preparedness.

"I think the bond with police is terribly important," Chiafery said. "It's important for children, its important for us."

Chiafery said she thought Monday's meeting reaffirmed this and that they should never take it for granted.

“(Police Chief Mark Doyle) was right in the fact that we have a wonderful working relationship and that, I don't think is true of all places," Chiafery said of Doyle's sentiments in an article on Merrimack Patch Friday afternoon when news of the massacre in Newtown broke.

Chiafery also agreed with Doyle that the district is well-prepared to handle an emergency – that the staff is well trained and the students well-apprised of how the behave in an unexpected situation. However, she said that doesn't mean there isn't something to be learned from Friday's events and that they just sit back and keep everything the status quo.

Chiafery said each one of these school shootings imparts some sort of lesson onto the school district. There are things you learn that you hadn't even considered before, she said.

"Not that I like these experiences, but if there is anything that can be gained, it's that we can refine these plans and make them better. We can't let familiarity get in the way.”

That's true both of being familiar with the plans and being familiar with the people who walk into Merrimack's schools. Chiafery said there are definitely things to be worked on even with the schools that have buzz-in entrances. Whether it's making sure that the "gatekeepers" are asking for reasons that guests are visiting the schools and making sure they sign in, even if they know who they are, or making sure those same "gatekeepers" aren't isolated from other people as they are now at the elementary schools, Chiafery said that's all stuff they will look at and work to improve.

It's been learned that despite the locked entrances to the school, the gunman in Connecticut forced his way in, so regular training and conducting of drills of the procedures is of the utmost importance to protect the people inside.

Speaking of the teachers at The Sandy Hook School, Chiafery said their actions, the way they carried on in some cases, as if everything was just fine, is exactly what Merrimack and districts around the state and country train their teachers.

“These teachers had practiced lock down enough that they knew exactly what to do,” Chiafery said of the Connecticut teachers.

The other topic that Chiafery said should be examined going forward is how to improve awareness of mental illness and how to handle it in a school environment. It's something her team discussed wanting to know more about, Chiafery said.

"If we could begin to aid students with mental illness at an earlier age, that needs to be done," Chiafery said. "You have to wonder if we could go back, could we have undone it?"

Because of the weekend between Friday's shooting and resuming of classes today, Chiafery said she expected parents would talk with their children as needed over the weekend. If anyone wants or needs further support, they are welcome to contact the principals at their children's school for further guidance, and crisis support teams will remain at the ready for anyone who needs it.