Security Concerns Dominate Toms River School Board Meeting

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Parents seeking answers and immediate change expressed frustration Wednesday at the Toms River Regional Board of Education meeting as they raised concerns about security at the district's schools.

School security has been one of the primary concerns across the country in six weeks since 17 students and staff members were gunned down in a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. The massacre at Marjory Stoneman High School that injured an additional 16 people has had parents across the country demanding assurances that their school districts are taking proper security procedures.

In Toms River, concerns have been heightened further by a school threat that occurred late on March 13, the night before walkouts were planned across the country to protest gun violence and mark the one-month anniversary of the Parkland shooting.

That threat, posted on Instagram by a 15-year-old student in the district, was investigated by the Toms River Police Department and the student in question arrested, the police department said at the time. Due to the age of the student, police did not release the student's name, and said only that his return to school was under evaluation.

Since then, however, rumors have swirled on social media about when the student might return and about a past history of incidents. At the school board meeting, Board President Russell Corby and Superintendent David Healy reiterated statements made previously that the status and information about a specific student could not be addressed.

That frustrated many of the roughly 50 parents who attended the meeting.

"My kids are afraid to go back to school with this child," one mother said.

"How many strikes are too many strikes and when is the district required to make alternative education arrangements?" said Mike Maguire of Toms River.

Healy said that in general, the district's policy is that a student who has a history of problems or who has committed certain kinds of actions must go through a comprehensive evaulation by mental health professionals before being allowed to return.

"There are certain events that are disqualifying," Healy said. "Certain events are black-and-white." And students have been barred from returning to the 16,000-student district because their presence is a disruption to the education of others.

"There is a large collaborative process ... (and) a number of people making the decision," Healy said. "Only if a child is deemed not a threat can that child return to school. A lot goes into investigating the situation."

"I am making you a promise: If there's a child we think is a threat, that child is not coming back," Healy said. "You can hold me accountable."

"I think you have to have trust and confidence in this administration and this board that the children are being taken care of," Corby said. "These administrators have moral, legal and ethical responsibility to care for this district."

"We are all as upset that these things are even going on in our schools," said Corby, who noted that he has grandchildren who attend the district's schools and that several board members have children in the district as well. But he added that untrue rumors on social media are causing officials to spend "hours and hours of wasteful time."

Another mother urged the district to pour more money into security and safety, including putting in metal detectors to screen students coming into school in the morning and urging other procedures be put into place to verify who is coming into the school.

Corby said the board and the administration have been meeting with the Toms River Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor's office to go over security, a process that wasn't something just undertaken because of the Parkland shooting, he said.

"As a parent I knew the questions that were out there," said Healy, whose children attend another school district. "But it doesn't take an incident for us to start doing things. We are reviewing security all the time."

He said the district already was in the process of having its buildings mapped with GPS technology that helps law enforcement respond more rapidly in an active shooter situation, and is looking into other state-of-the-art systems to increase security in other ways.

"What's being done is not enough," one mother said. "There is no price limit to our children's safety. We are concerned and we want more done."

Corby said the district has a Super Safety committee that is comprised of board members and law enforcement and its meetings are open to the public. A meeting is planned for after spring break, Christopher Raimann said, and he and Corby promised they would work to ensure the word gets out to the public about the meeting.

Dan Leonard, who represents Beachwood on the board, said the district takes security very seriously and that the schools are far more secure than they were even four years ago.

"I understand your frustration," said Leonard, who is retiring shortly from a career in the Army that included service in Afghanistan and the last 10 years focused on anti-terrorism efforts.

"I give you my word that I have full conficdence in the administration in everything we have done to make the schools safe," said Leonard, who is known for being outspoken. He said while people want more assurances about security, "It is part of protocol to not put things on social media," because it gives those who are looking for weaknesses a way to pinpoint trouble spots. "If there was a problem, I would say so and address it in a tactful manner."

"Trust me, trust this board that we have full confidence in this administraiton to keep the kids safe," he said.

Jennifer Howe, who said she has six kids in the district, said she understands the concerns about security but added that the focus on it is taking away from other things the district should be doing for the kids.

"Some lunatic could come with a huge pickup truck and drive through the front doors and not have an ID," she said. "We're not going to prevent bad things from happening. Some people are just bad people."

"Let's take some money and spent it on things like field trips again," she said. "Money spent on the kids would make them better people."

Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff