Westport Schools to Get Police Officers For Rest of Year
WESTPORT — On the heels of last week's school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, all schools in Westport will be staffed with a police officer for the rest of the academic year.
That's according to a letter sent to parents and guardians of Westport schools students on May 31 from Superintendent Thomas Aubin, who noted that the measure would be taken as a safety precaution.
Police officers will not be present at the district's administrative building, Aubin wrote.
The superintendent told WBSM News that school officials have contacted Westport's state legislators — Senator Michael Rodrigues and Representative Paul Schmid — to see if funding is available for officers to remain in the schools over the 2023 school year as well.
"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," Aubin wrote in the letter.
He noted that Westport police are meeting with district and school leadership to review safety protocols.
The schools have also updated their emergency operations plan and underwent active shooter drills as well as a safety review earlier this 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," Aubin wrote in the letter.
But, he added, a main priority is building relationships with the school community — because "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," the letter concluded.
Aubin told WBSM News that the response from parents has thus far been "overwhelmingly supportive."