Police Presence Increased At All Greenwich Public Schools

GREENWICH, CT — Following community feedback, the Greenwich Public Schools District has decided to increase police presence at all schools in town.

District spokesperson Jonathan Supranowitz said the increased security will be in place through the end of the school year, depending on staffing availability. School officials will have ongoing discussions with the safety and security team and the Greenwich Police Department about the upcoming 2022-2023 school year, Supranowitz noted.

Last week, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Toni Jones sent a letter to families detailing some aspects of the district's safety plan, which is overseen by the district's director of safety and security. By law, the plan must be coordinated with local safety officials.

The safety plan includes annual drills for students and staff, support from the GPD, a robust camera system, key-swipe entry through doors, an automated alert system for emergencies and daily monitoring of buildings from patrol officers

"There are many aspects of our safety plans which are not available to the public," Jones said in her letter. "This approach is taken to increase the safety of our schools. Greenwich Public Schools does not announce all of the safety mechanisms or procedures, as that would be letting individuals know how to circumvent our safety procedures."

Jones asked for questions and comments from families. In another letter to families on June 5, Jones said that in response to requests from the community, there would be increased security at every school building through the end of the year.

"I hope that this adjustment helps to alleviate some of the anxiety our staff, students, and families have been experiencing," Jones said. "We will aim to have an officer at each school, but we will undoubtedly have days where the department is unable to staff for that capacity given staff shortages. In those instances, there is a well-defined plan for multiple school sites in close proximity to share an officer. But rest assured, the GPD will do everything in their power to assign as many officers to our schools as possible."

Greenwich High School accounts for half the district's enrollment. Jones said there are 10 security staff members located onsite every day, and two School Resource Officers assigned to the high school. Jones said that will not change.

The Greenwich Public Schools District has a security line in its operating fund which is used throughout the year to pay for police when needed for traffic issues, large scale events and other times when the district need support from the police, Supranowitz said.

"We are anticipating that the line will run over with the needs from these last few weeks and we will need to transfer funds from a salary line which is running under because we have positions unfilled or open," Supranowitz added.

Graduation for GHS is scheduled for June 23, the last day of classes for Greenwich schools is June 24, and the last day for GHS is June 28.