Who can say "no"?
The only concern I have is that this gets lobbed into the school dept operating budget and becomes the starting point for next years budget negotiations.

I have no problem with policemen or security guards guarding the schools, or improving communication capabilities. Now we need $127,009 to “begin” a three-phase plan. This is from a “private consultant”. Is this “private consultant from Seekonk? Has this person been paid? Is the private consultant familiar with the town? I hope the moonbats won’t start with the usual rhetoric, if we don’t spend a bazillion dollars on private consultants, three phase plans and structure changes to all schools in Seekonk then we hate our kids and don’t want them protected. What I want is a common a sense discussion about this and no further exploitation of a horrible tragedy.

Amy, I'm on your side that the information right now is vague. The good thing is that a presentation will be made prior to the vote at Town Meeting, and at Town Meeting people are allowed to ask as many questions as they want.

Ok…before the train completely runs off of the rail. Current communications issues are being addressed in phase one because during testing there were several instances where communication could not be established. Prevention is certainly part of the ongoing planning, but the primary concern to get the process moving forward is the ability to communicate inside the buildings during a crisis.

Wendy> "Why do we need to spend money on the very unlikely chance that someone in or near Seekonk might be psychotic and try to shoot 20 kids?" <<< With this comment - you are kidding, right? I'm sure it seemed very unlikely in CT - then it happened...

Also, for your comment of (the police) "working more on where there *are* crimes rather than where there *might be*" <<< I didn't realize Seekonk was a hotbed for criminal activity. I'm guessing you mean having the PD patrol the Best Buy plaza more often on the lookout for someone ripping off an XBox game is more important...

Wake-up to the times...

Bottom line - there is nothing wrong with well-thought/legitimate spending of money on communications infrastructure, and having a town officer on-hand that the staff and students can depend on.

Just a clarification for those who may be interested in facts getting in the way, full time guards are not in the proposal.

I hope this is only a temporary stop-gap measure. We can protect children in the schools, but they can be shot at shopping malls, movie theaters and in other venues. When they get older, many of the girls/women will be raped or victims of domestic violence. My cousin, a young man, was shot and killed at a gas station when re-fueling his car. There are also, as we've just experienced, workplace shootings.

The long-term solution is to move away from a culture of violence. We reward aggression in this country. There are, however, peaceful societies. Many children are sadly not learning values and alternatives to violence at home or in faith communities. The only practical solution is to make such education part of our public school system. Nonviolence education is taking place in many of Worcester's schools. Seekonk should consider doing the same. Who knows? Maybe it would even have an impact on town politics if children learn reverence for life, self-esteem, respect for others, nonviolent communication skills, conflict resolution and mediation, and looking for win-win solutions.

An accident on a dark road is a tragedy - but it is also an accident.

While a new street light would be nice - common sense says to make an effort to drive a little safer/slower. An accident may happen regardless - but as a driver you make a conscious effort...

Deciding to lock and load on a school full of kids is not an accident - i think anyone with a heart can agree that practicing safety is needed as well. And yes - things don't come free - it includes spending.

We live in a different world today - which means different types of planning and spending than what we have all considered the norm. And yes, we continue to have to live our daily lives a little different while we move forward - it's part of putting on your pants in the morning.

Sweeping it under the carpet and saying - what's next - now we'd have to restructure this and that... not the right thinking. For better or worse, as times change - so do the overall needs of an organized society.

Do we need better mental healthcare? Yes. Should the nut have been locked-up? Yes. But that isn't 100% of the solution - just like we can't light every street light - we can't find every nut on the street.

And... I still think it is sad to think and say >>> "Why do we need to spend money on the very unlikely chance that someone in or near Seekonk might be psychotic and try to shoot 20 kids?" << again << unlikely? Every shooting was unlikely to all of those involved...

Something needs to be said.

In the past Seekonk Schools have been very proactive with innovative programs to create a culture of non-violence, conflict resolution etc.

In the early eighties, Dr Hurley and colleagues led the charge with the eighth grade camping trip. It was a working vacation, so to speak.

The gay straight alliance has been at the high school for well over a decade. Perhaps the program has morphed into something else. But I think it still exists. Don't underestimate Seekonk.

Yet, there is a pervasive, inescapable culture of violence. What to do about it, I don't know. The best we can do for now is to ask for the best defense.

Carol, as always your mouth is bigger than your logic. Please list for us these "peaceful societies" Please, then we can model ourselves after them!!!!

Maybe Eygypt or Iran or most of Africa, I heard Greece used to be nice. And no one ever gets rapped in India. Nice places. Please give us the list of utopias so we can begin to transform ourselves. And I would also like the town to give more details of this audit done by "Whom???" i agreee with spending money on making the schools safer but lets be sure we are hiring the correct people to access. My God, we had enough trouble hiring engineers for civil projects in this town. Stand up seekonk and say something!

I find it interesting that several negative comments about Carol Bragg and her input on these blogs do not get approved by moderators. Carol is in every blog and is alway right! Hmmm? But I'll try one more entry. Carol, Please list these utopias that we can use as a model for a peaceful society. India?? Eygypt? Greece was nice before they went bust! No violence in china or Korea (north or south). The society you suggest only exist early in the morning on PBS networks and was meant for children. Did you think the TeleTubbies were Real? Come on Carol. Please be realistic.

Jonathan: I have a comment "pending approval" which was submitted yesterday at 4:29pm. Should I resubmit?

I think there might be an issue with our commenting program, I will let you know.

Animals are territorial and I don't think they can be talked out of it... hence, there are no utopias that I can't think of. For a minute, I thought of the Eskimos, but I think they are tribal when necessary to protect their food supply.

As for security funding... it's $127k for the first phase or three phases. I wonder what the rest will cost, and if all this is a one-time cost for upgrading the security of four buildings. Will Seekonk have to divert funds from other projects because we do have just so much money available to us.

I am upset. I have 2 children in the Seekonk schools and worry about them like any parent. I want our schools to be safer, but we should know exactly how this money is being spent. From what little I got from this article it seems as though $127,009 is going to nothing unless a tragedy hits. So if a tragedy hits, the emergency services can communicate within the building. Shouldn't it be the police & fire department's responsibility to have the technology that they need no matter what building they are in? I feel it should be our first priority to prevent rather than gear up for a tragedy. Gearing up should be left for after schools are safer. Nowhere in this article does it say that the money for phase 1 is going to anything that is preventive. We should know who this company is that did the audit & who is doing the work. Why is this the first we are hearing about these plans? My husband works in food transport & is always let into a back door of every school by someone who has never met him before. Shouldn't we be focusing on all the ways our schools are not safe and how to fix that instead of what to do when something bad happens. Let’s stop bad from happening not getting ready for it to hit!

Please keep in mind that the upcoming town meeting is a special town meeting due to the senior center. The additional phases are being planned for our regular town meeting in June. Those phases deal with physical improvements and access control, which would be accomplished while school was out for the summer. This is all tentative based on how long it takes to put everything together and depending on what is approved. To be clear, the town and police department are very much involved in this process and much of the planning is based on their direction.

I am working on what information can and cannot be released. The warrant article for phase one was just completed Monday night, so there is much work to be done prior to town meeting.

A reminder that I am providing information but these are my views and do not represent the views of the school committee.

A comprehensive nonviolence curriculum has not been available that long. For a good discussion, see Nonviolence or Nonexistence? King's daughter: Message is as vital as ever -- http://thetandd.com/news/topnews/nonviolence-or-nonexistence-king-s-daughter-message-is-as-vital/article_887ef206-60f7-11e2-a8dc-0019bb2963f4.html

Carol: I don't think we need a nonviolence curriculum. I think what is needed is a code of conduct that demands non-niolence.

For clarification regarding one of the comments posted above, nothing in this article was changed from the original version except for a few grammar fixes. If any significant information is changed or added to an article, I always note that either in the article or in the comments section.

Stephanie, Good points. Please give us the details of this Independent agency that did this security audit. Is it the same company we are going to contract to do the suggested work?

Another suggestion to prevent this from happening here in our own little private Idaho; if you have a person with mental "issues" living with you that burns their hands and feet because they can't feel anything, plays violent video games day and night and can't be left alone even to go to the bathroom, then lock up your guns and the nut. Some simple common sense once again would have prevented a horrible disaster. I personally was shocked that everyone in the town wasn't surprised it was him. From all accounts, the school in Newtown was more prepared than most. Sadly, it still didn't stop it. We can't live in a cocoon. Home school is the only way to protect our kids 100 percent. Is that what we want? We just never stop thinking of new ways to spend money.

I would ask that everyone try to be a little patient. I understand you might want figures for what different things cost but the reality is that the process of determining our options and costs will take time, hence why only phase one was presented for the upcoming town meeting, and that took until the last minute. To answer what I can, improvements would be for our active schools, not North or Aggie. Costs would be different for each of these building, as they all have different designs with each presenting a unique challenge to get them to a common standard (I cannot be more specific at this time). When I can provide the consultant name I will.

I too am always concerned about costs. I can only say that I have not seen anything that appears excessive in the planning so far. That does not mean something might not be expensive, just that it appears justified. I cannot be specific, as the time for public discussion is a way off.

One more before I go. Kudos to all in the blogs that post their real names. That includes you Carol with whom I am so polarized. As for the rest of you, if you really care, be known! Any coward can hide behind anonymity and spout comments. Ill even go as fair to give all my phone and email
Todd Ouellet
508 369 3898
team2aseekonk@gmail.com

@Carol... "If we can, through training, desensitize people to taking lives, we can also, through training, resensitize people to valuing human life -- their own and others."

I agree with you 100%. However, I think it would take three generations to get the job done, and everyone would have to be in sync. A lot of parents lose control of or influence over their children at a certain age. The pull of the outside world is stronger than even the best of homes. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't start trying.

There is another active string on Patch about religious schools. Although I'm not terribly religious, certainly don't participate in anything, I believe in the teachings and calming effect of most religions. Kids seem more polite to one another, to their teachers, etc. when attending these schools.

@ deb ...

I just went to look for the string called 'Catholic Schools Raise the...', and it appears to have been taken down. Just as well since it got corrupted immediately with pedaphelia.

It was taken down at the request of the person who submitted it.

@Carol... "We need to make a societal and institutional commitment."

I agree, but there doesn't seem to be an appetite for that at this time. You seem to stay away from the politics of things, but I believe the tone of a country or any entity is set at the top. Right now there is an awful lot of civil unrest in the country. People are aggitated for any number of reasons: unemployment, taxation, etc. and it shows up primarily in the young. They have energy, albeit misplaced. Rattled and frustrated, they lash out. They kill at will. Life has no value, their own included.

I think the concept of a god is a good thing for a population to have. It is an anchor. Because religions generally preach non violence and have family values and respect life, they have a calming effect. The young work off their energy playing sports instead of cruising around the neighborhood to see who they can kill.

Non-violence can be taught in the schools and it probably is, but in the crowded, desperate, lawless ghettos of Chicago and Detroit, no one is listening.