Attleboro Schools Not Secure, Parent Says

Security must be improved at Attleboro's public schools regardless of the cost, a Hill-Roberts Elementary parent said at the Monday school committee meeting.

Sam Ambewadikar said he was sharing the opinions of several parents in his neighborhood when he spoke during the public forum portion of the meeting.

"Intercoms and locked doors and having an occasional police presence at school admission and discharge are insufficient for any of the schools," he said. "There needs to be a police presence at every one of our schools … and if that costs money, then that's worth spending money for."

School district Superintendent Pia Durkin said she has had several administrative meetings about school safety since the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Two meetings have taken place with Police Chief Kyle Heagney, including one attended by Mayor Kevin Dumas. 

Building safety plans are "continually looked at and reviewed by the police department" and have been given a "far more critical eye" since the Sandy Hook tragedy, Durkin said. Heagney and Dumas are expected to attend the next school committee meeting on Jan. 28 to make a presentation on safety.

Durkin said a review of school monitors and security systems was recently done. She has some ideas for upgrades that she will discuss with the school committee during an executive session. Also, she wants the schools to have more lockdown drills "so they become as second-nature as fire drills are." There will be a police presence at the schools during these drills.