Letter to the editor: Changes coming to make Jamestown schools safer

A week ago, our safe little world was shook up again as we witnessed another senseless rampage, this time in Connecticut. It seems inconceivable that someone could come up with a plan to murder little kids, still full of the innocence of childhood. The story continues to rip at our hearts this week as we witness the funerals for the students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I don’t know what the answers are to these violent outbreaks.

I hope that a serious discussion can ensue from this, one that would answer questions about our violent society and lack of serious mental health programs in much of the country. Ask our leaders to put politics aside and work on answering some serious questions about how a country as rich and wonderful as this one can have things like this happen.

Locally, we have to ask ourselves if something like this could happen in Jamestown. It is hard to imagine that the answer could be yes, but we would be unbelievably naive if we answered in any other way. With that in mind, administrators have been working this week to come up with plans to do everything we can to make sure it does not happen here. While we have taken steps in the past to make our schools safer, we are considering doing even more to be more secure. Administrators are working with our School Resource Officer, Nick Hardy, on ways to improve security. This will include more locked doors, more cameras, different procedures and more drills. You will be hearing about this in the coming months as we bring spending requests to the School Board and discuss plans.

I suspect that the safety precautions won’t be popular with everyone, as it may make coming into a school more difficult. But our first responsibility is the safety of our students and staff. I hope that all parents and visitors will understand the reasons behind our proposals and accept some small inconveniences.

Finally, I would echo the words of President Barack Obama last Friday. Hug your kids a little tighter tonight when they go to bed. Remember how precious they are. Let’s protect their innocence.

(Toso is superintendent of Jamestown Public Schools)

Tags: opinion, letter, education