Dear Barrington School Committee members,

Once again, the nation is grieving the loss of our precious children and our dedicated teachers. Unfortunately, this tragedy occurred on the same day that Rhode Island High Schools found themselves in lockdown after receiving hoax active shooter calls.

School safety is an issue that must transcend political divides. While there is undoubtedly disagreement about how the Rhode Island state government and the federal government should react, this community is uniquely empowered to pursue whatever solutions we feel are right.

To that end, we request that you form a subcommittee on Campus Safety and Readiness to act as the guiding hand we need to prevent such tragedies from shattering our community.

First, this sub-committee should be comprised of at least 15 members, half-seated by the school committee, law enforcement representatives, and school officials/staff, and the other half consisting of members of the public and subject-matter experts. Second, they should conduct, oversee, and communicate the results of campus security audits in our schools. Third, they should bring in whatever is required to enhance not just building security, but campus security, operating under the goal that any response to any threat to our schools should be handled before buildings are breached. This must, at a minimum, involve placing a school resource officer at every facility when school is in session. And last, they should provide regular status updates to you, the School Committee, at every business meeting.

We don’t want our schools to feel like prisons. We simply recognize that the world has changed. There are reasonable, practical, and aesthetically pleasing ways to enhance security in our schools to raise campuses to contemporary standards while improving our children’s social and educational experiences. They deserve safe schools. Teachers and staff deserve safe workplaces. Please work with us to make this happen.

Thank you,

Sara Catanzaro
Robert Swarts
Deqiang Zhang
Jeff Schles
Lauren Fox
James Fox
Amy Forbes
Allison Williams
Kenny Williams
Jennifer Holland
Brian Holland
Elizabeth Chwalk
Ted Chwalk
Emily Hughes
Brian Hughes
Erin Robertson
David Robertson
Meg Whelan
Brad Whelan
Chris Coleman
Megan Coleman
Kimberly Hood
David Hood
Mary Tronti
Kate Godbout
Emily Hughes
Scott Hughes
Melina Hill
Adam Hill
Tim Forbes
Anna Amiradaki
Leslie Parker
Matt Parker
Jun Tao
Hao Wu
Charles Enright
Meris Enright
Meredith Haffenreffer
Adolf Haffenreffer
Selina Dacey
Chris Dacey
Ann Hof
Guangchun Mi
Shiqiang Zhang
Erica Resmini
Bethany Weinstein
Jonathan Weinstein
Shannon Weinstein
Brian Weinstein
Alexandra Griffin                  
Ransom Griffin
Haley Holland
Matt Holland
Qi Chen
Ran Zhang
Lorraine Mari
Liying Peng
Tao Liu
Hangjian Ling
Jing Yang
Hillary Hollis
Matthew Hollis
Erica O’Connell
Adam Resmini
Paula Resmini
Ronald J. Resmini
Jason Resmini, Esq.
Andrew Resmini
Krissi Resmini
Bailey O’Donnell
Tony Hatala
Robin Mulligan
Gregory Mulligan
Monica Sacchetti
Daniel Sacchetti
Christian Nebergall
Caroline Nebergall
Jessica Raposa
Michael Raposa
Lindsay Norley
Zack Norley
Joanna Gentile
Janet Searles
Kimberly Test
Bradley Test
Lisa Treat
Mac Dolan
Emily Cook
Tammie Guerra
Matthew Mitchell
Allison Mitchell
Kelli Hardiman
Ryan Hardiman
Jackie Orent
Jonathan Orent
Stephen Howe
Sheena Alescio
David Norton
Elizabeth Norton
Kristen Albie
Scott Francis
Lisa Daft
Melissa Rego
Eugene Fina
Rachel Scagos
Michael Scagos
Amy Curti
Richard O’Donnell
Diana O’Donnell
Kerri Labelle
April Baker
Jessica Jacoby Lemos
Richard Guerra
Lindsey Hingorany
Rob Gonsalves
Holly Gonsalves
Amalie Flynn
Shannon Staton

Barrington