'The anxiety is high': Some SouthCoast schools increasing police presence after Uvalde

NEW BEDFORD — As the SouthCoast region joins the rest of the nation in processing the recent tragic events at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the local public school districts of Westport, Dartmouth and Acushnet have had an increase in police presence.

In Westport, the increase has come in the form of stationing officers in school buildings where they previously were not.

"We always had a school resource officer at the middle and high schools; what we didn't have was a presence at the elementary and primary schools," Westport Superintendent Thomas Aubin said.

The new addition of town police officers to the Alice A. Macomber Primary School and Westport Elementary School took effect Tuesday upon students' return from the long Memorial Day weekend, after the Board of Selectmen voted shortly after the April 24 events in Uvalde to allow Aubin to arrange for officers in the two schools. After a discussion between Aubin, Westport Town Administrator James Hartnett and Chief of Police Keith Pelletier that Friday, it was settled, Aubin said.

Currently, the additional police presence for Westport schools is set to remain in place through the remainder of the school year, but Aubin says the administration is already set on trying to secure funding to keep the arrangement through the 2022-2023 school year.

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"We are ... asking our legislative delegation for help as well. I've reached out to Sen. (Michael) Rodrigues and Rep. (Paul) Schmid about getting some type of funding for us to be able to keep this arrangement throughout the '22-'23 school year," Aubin said. "It's unfortunate but this situation is going to exist for a long time."

Meanwhile, in Dartmouth, Police Chief Brian Levesque announced in a Facebook post on Wednesday that — in response to Uvalde — that "the Dartmouth Police Department, along with our School Resource Officers, have decided to increase the presence of police at the various Dartmouth schools for the remainder of the school year."

As the wording suggests, that decision was solely on the part of police, however Dartmouth Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bonnie Gifford says she doesn't mind that at all, and as far as she can tell, neither does the rest of the school community.

"It's the chief's call," she said.

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Gifford described the stepped-up police presence there as informal, noting that school resource officers were already assigned to the middle and high schools. "It's not that police will be stationed at the elementary schools, but they will be parked nearby," Gifford said. "It just gives folks a sense of comfort to see police around, so visibility will be increased."

In Acushnet, police are taking similar action, patrolling the schools more closely following the Uvalde shooting, Superintendent Dr. Paula Bailey said. "We have an school resource officer on campus and I also collaborate really closely with the police chief," Bailey said.

Citing security reasons, Bailey declined to share details on what the "increased presence in and around the campus" entailed above the norm.

Looking for weak spots

At New Bedford Public Schools, Superintendent Thomas Anderson says police presence at city schools hasn't necessarily increased, but Uvalde has prompted some re-evaluation and re-emphasizing.

"The anxiety is high. Whenever something like this happens it makes you rethink," Anderson said. "So we are evaluating all schools, all entry points, all the camera positioning, adding more cameras and all those types of things.

"Some of that was already underway, but it does make you pause and think about what’s effective, what do we need to change. It’s kind of an ongoing process."

Anderson says aside from security, there is also the emotional aspect to consider after a school shooting event like Uvalde. "When it comes to our counselors and access to social-emotional supports and things like that — those are areas that ramped up a little bit just because of the need of the situation," Anderson said, "looking at how we're dealing with the feelings of people and making people feel secure."

Anderson said at an upcoming School Committee meeting scheduled for June 13, he plans on presenting on the security investments that that have been made in the past two to three years.

In Dartmouth, Gifford says security cameras have also been a big priority in terms of securing schools.

"Over the past two years or so, (we've been) really increasing and enhancing our camera system," Gifford said. "They become old and you can’t really see into this hallway or that hallway, or outside in the playground areas, so those have already pretty much been all updated throughout the district."

GIfford also noted that police are able to access school cameras should the need arise. "So, if something was happening in the high school, for example, and we called 911, they could access in and see the hallways to determine if there was an intruder, and they can also take over the PA system to alert folks ‘the intruder’s in hall three’ or whatever it might be," Gifford said.

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How it's been received

None among the school leaders from Westport, Dartmouth or Acushnet noted any negative feedback about an increase in police presence. In Westport, Aubin says while the circumstances leading to their new placements are unfortunate, the reception of adding police to the district's primary and elementary schools — which, together, account for grades pre-K through fourth grade — has been positive.

"This has been an organic process — it's not something that is shocking to kids," Aubin said. "In conversations I've had with staff, students and families, they seem to be extremely supportive of this, so that's heart-warming."

Teachers union president urges gun control over more cops

However, increasing the presence of police in schools does bring some relatively recent qualms to mind with that concept. Following the Uvalde shooting and the response of some school districts, Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) President Merrie Najimy provided a statement via email:

"The MTA has long questioned the role of police in schools. Schools are public spaces that are the center of our communities. Our vision is one in which schools are not barricaded fortresses — but rather are welcoming, safe and joyful learning environments that are open to their communities,' Najimy wrote, going on to cite "sensible federal gun control laws" as the most sensible first step toward safer schools. "Congress needs to act immediately on banning the kinds of weapons we see used in these massacres and instituting background checks that keep firearms out of the hands of people who should not have them.

"Having armed police officers in schools perpetuates the very gun culture that we are trying to break."

Najimy urged MTA members to "advocate for more education personnel and programs — from counselors to student engagement activities...."

"Prioritizing what is appropriate for keeping schools safe in any district is a decision that needs to be made in consultation with local educators’ unions," she wrote.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: In wake of Texas shooting, SouthCoast districts add police at schools