In light of the Connecticut school shooting a week ago, New Kensington-Arnold School Board members would like to review district security procedures.
Board President Bob Pallone said he wants to make sure staff is following procedures that were set up by the district's former security consultant Paul Drake, who has since died.
Pallone said one of Drake's suggestions, that classroom doors be shut and locked while class is in session, seemed to make especially good sense. Pallone said he read that the Sandy Hook school shooter didn't bother locked classrooms.
Pallone said he also would like to see policies regarding the dress code and use of electronic devices enforced.
“We need to get back to this,” Pallone said. “This thing that happened (in Newtown, Conn.) is a tragedy. We don't want that happening here.”
The board agreed to have a committee of board members and administrators review the procedures and discuss how they can be best be enforced.
Board member Pat Petit requested board member Eric Doutt, an Arnold police officer, be involved in the committee.
Solicitor Tony Vigilante suggested that the board not discuss much about security procedures in public.
Superintendent John Pallone said he was pleased to announce that there were no significant problems at New Kensington-Arnold since the massacre in Connecticut.
Some local districts, including Burrell, Deer Lakes and Kiski Area, have dealt with threats that heightened safety precautions in the last week.
“We had a very calm week,” John Pallone said.
Liz Hayes is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-226-4680 or lhayes@tribweb.com.
