NT parents demand improved safety measures

March 19--In the emotional aftermath of last month's deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla., coupled with news of the arrests of three North Tonawanda High School students who allegedly threatened to pull off a similar attack, NT parents are demanding that the district step up its safety measures.

Several parents, and a couple of students, approached the North Tonawanda Board of Education Wednesday evening wanting to know how the district intended to protect their children in the face of such a threat. They asked for more security cameras, increased presence of school resource officers, holding children with behavior issues accountable for their actions and, in general, taking a more "proactive" approach to making sure no harm comes to students when they're at school.

"As you know, the Parkland shooting has sparked up a lot of drama and controversy ... which has basically got people worried," said student Caleb Thoms, addressing the school board. "I was wanting to know what the school's actually doing about it. I understand that, in the high school at least, there aren't many security cameras, if any."

Thoms also said it seems to him that the district doesn't appear to be using the cameras they do have. Superintendent Gregory Woytila agreed with him, saying that district is "in need of more" cameras.

However, Woytila said that the lack of cameras is something that the district has already taken note of. In fact, the addition of more cameras is part of the plan for the district's ongoing capital project, which will see the installation of new cameras at the high school and middle school as well as at Ohio and Spruce elementary schools.

"The capital project that we're currently working on is scheduled to have them installed this summer," Woytila said. "We have some funding issues but we're working on an alternative route to make sure that they're in there so that they start for September if at all possible."

Thoms' sentiments were echoed by others, including several parents. Monica Scarpace said it was "bananas" that the district was lacking in the area of security camera coverage in the modern era and that the district is "failing" its students.

She also said that the district needs to step up and do something about bullying, which some feel may contribute to the likelihood that a student may commit an act of violence. The district has seen some negative attention in the last year due to incidents of severe bullying, including one fight that was recorded and posted to social media.

Another parent, Stephanie Barmann, said her child has been the victim of bullying and asked why parents aren't being held accountable when students do act inappropriately. But she said she has hope that things can be done to improve the situation.

"I sit there and I wonder if bullying isn't part of the problem," Barmann said. "I think NT really does have integrity and I think that NT teachers love these kids, I think you guys love these kids, and I really think that with an open line of communication ... that we really can make these changes."

Two city residents, who are also running for a seat on the school board in May's election, also spoke on the topic. One of them, Krista Vince Garland, a professor at Buffalo State College, stressed the importance of dealing with the emotions that may lead to violence by investing in social workers. She also recommended working to promote community involvement and enhance the awareness of any issues.

The other school board candidate, city police officer Erik Herbert, also advocated for more cameras, secure doors and school resources officers. He said that, with the proper mechanisms in place, the number of fatalities in schools could be significantly decreased.

"In this country, we used to have a similar problem where students and teachers were killed or injured in fires, it used to be a very common thing in the U.S.," he said. "As a response to that, different things were put in place -- sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, drills, consultations with fire departments, etc. Now, it almost never happens where there's school building that catches fire and there's a loss of life. It's been almost unheard of in the last 10 years."

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