SOUTH DEERFIELD — Lynn Carey, superintendent of the Frontier Regional School District, presented concerns about safety before the Board of Selectmen Wednesday evening, the first day of the new school year.
She told the board that the district could benefit from more safety drills in response to emergency situations, like fires, “active shooters” and incidents involving hazardous materials.
Selectmen’s Chairwoman Carolyn Shores Ness agreed with the superintendent and said she’d like to hold a hazardous materials emergency evacuation drill. She expressed an interest in getting Homeland Security to fund it.
Ness said the gridlock on streets bordering the school could potentially come with a hazmat emergency could pose a lot of logistical problems — problems that could be worked-through with training.
Other safety concerns cited during the meeting included the close proximity of train tracks to the swing sets at the elementary school.
“When the train goes by at 70 miles per hour,” said Selectman Henry “Kip” Komosa, “if there ever was a derailment, is that something we can fix now?”
He suggested that the town look into moving the play area to another location.
“My initiative for this year is safety,” Carey responded, adding a few emergency service meetings have already been planned for this year.
“Being prepared is so important,” the superintendent added. “The safety of our students is No. 1.”
Carey also said she’s excited about starting her tenure in the region.
“People are very happy here, they stay in this district for a long time,” Carey said during the meeting, “and the schools are really beautiful. Frontier Regional is just a wonderful place to be.”