Town of Westport to take actions, including arming buildings, in wake of Uvalde tragedy

The Town of Westport has decided to take action after a recent school shooting.

According to Westport Superintendent of Schools Thomas Aubin, after the tragic event in Uvalde, Texas and a meeting with Town Administrator Jim Hartnett and Police Chief Keith Pelletier, it has been decided that all school buildings, exclusive of the administrative 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.”

Aubin also stated that Lieutenant Couto and Sergeant McCarthy will meet with the district and school leadership Tuesday to review safety protocols and standards.

“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 and police reviewed to correct areas of vulnerability.”

Aubin concluded by stating that it is important for students and parents to speak up if they hear or see something.

“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.”