In light of the tragic event in Uvalde, Texas, the Westport School Committee allowed me to meet with Town Administrator Jim Hartnett and Police Chief Keith Pelletier. Out of an abundance of safety, it was agreed that all school buildings, exclusive of the administration building, will be staffed with a police officer for the remainder of the school year. I want to thank Westport's Select Board, Police Department, and School Committee for taking this action to continue to protect our students and staff. Furthermore, we have contacted our legislative delegation in an attempt to acquire the funding that will allow us to staff our schools with police officers beyond the 2022 school year.

Additionally, Lieutenant Couto and Sergeant McCarthy will meet with the district and school leadership to review further our already robust safety protocols and standards. And while we have updated our Emergency Operations Plan and conducted a safety review by an outside agency earlier in the school year, we feel it essential for our school community's physical and emotional safety to continue to analyze areas of concern and address them immediately. we have also conducted active shooter drills at all of our schools this year. We garnered data at each event that school officials ad police reviewed to correct areas of vulnerability.

However, the most critical factor in preventing these terrible events is building solid relationships with our students and parents. We continue to emphasize that there are no security actions that we can take that have more value than hearing from you when a student acts aberrantly. The earlier we can intervene in these situations, the better chance we have at averting a tragedy while providing support to students who desperately need help.

Thank you for your role in keeping our schools safe!

Thomas Aubin, superintendent

Westport Community Schools

Editor's note: This letter was sent to members of the school community last Tuesday, May 31.