School Board condemns recent violence

In response to an incident on Nov 1 involving a 14-year-old student being slashed with a box cutter in a school hallway, members of the Freeport community gathered at a school board meeting on Nov 15 at Freeport New Visions Elementary to discuss the implications and impacts on students.

The meeting, led by the Superintendent, President, and various Trustees of the school board, sought to address concerns about school safety and reassure the community that measures would be taken to ensure the well-being of students in the learning environment.

The gathering commenced with the rendition of “Love Train” by the O’Jays performed by New Visions Elementary, followed by the approval of educational, personnel, and financial agenda items. Subsequently, residents, teachers, and parents shared their perspectives on the need for increased security at the schools.

Joseph Smith, a lifelong resident of Freeport, emphasized the importance of not judging individual incidents as indicative of overall security measures or the students themselves. Smith urged a balanced view of the community, highlighting both its positives and negatives.

“The media often paints our town as violent, negative, and in some ways lacking,” Smith said. “While other neighboring towns face very similar issues, they don’t get their name dragged through the mud so publicly like Freeport does. Let’s be sure to highlight all of the incredible programming for both typically minded and special needs children alike. We have such a beautiful community here with so much hope and possibility.

Resident Mark Devella, on the other hand, called for the resignation of board members, citing perceived deficiencies in district security.

“The security in this district is lacking beyond belief,” Devella said. “The students are on eggshells, the curriculum is out of whack, and the $700,000 that the district has wasted should have been used for metal detectors.”

Trustee Sunday Coward responded, cautioning against viewing the situation as a school-to-prison pipeline and emphasizing the importance of forgiveness and change.

“There will be rebel rousers that will come and try to hijack meetings and try to make it seem that this is a school-to-prison pipeline,” Coward said. “Thank god there are second chances. To those who are concerned, know that we won’t give up on you, your child, your parents, or our community.

Community member Marie Fulbras advocated for discretion in sharing information with the media, suggesting increased parent involvement, community meetings, and anti-bullying workshops as potential solutions.

“Inviting more scrutiny on these young students and the community as a whole is not right,” Fulbras said. “I believe in the concept of dirty laundry that should be kept within the family. If we truly care about the well-bring of the children and the reputation of the district, we have to be mindful about what we share with the media.”

Teachers Patricia Langan and Chris Dressler, representing the Freeport Teachers Association, expressed concern about safety issues and called for transparency and collaboration among parents, administration, and student representatives.

“Phrases like ‘if you don’t feel safe, then don’t work here’ are not uncommon,” Langan said. “Our building is unsafe and not conducive to learning, and safety measures have not been upheld for more than a day.”

Dressler furthered Langan’s position, placing more focus on a collaborative environment with parents, administration, and student representatives.

“Previous attempts to create the safest and best environment for all students to learn have been somewhat unsuccessful,” Dressler said. “We will only be able to make this progress if all parties are willing to be transparent, receptive to feedback, and show a true willingness to work collaboratively to make Freeport the best institution they can.”

During the board’s response, President Maria Jordan-Awalom and Trustee Scott Richardson urged de-politicizing the district and focusing on common ground. Richardson emphasized the need for adults to set aside differences for the sake of the children.

“Safety is our priority all the time,” Jordan-Awalom said. “We need to be collaborative, we need to work together, and we need to come up with solutions that do not always have a negative effect.”

While Richardson conveyed similar feelings as his fellow board member, he promoted the fact that the way the community’s adults are handling current events ultimately hinder what children need.

“There are people in our community that should know better on how to act and address the community that we are all responsible for,” Richardson said. “We live in a village that’s not acting like a village. It’s not good, and if we can’t come together, if we can’t put aside our adult issues, for our common ground of the kids, they will end up suffering.”

Superintendent Kishore Kuncham echoed the message of unity and effective addressing of issues. He acknowledged the importance of reviewing processes and procedures, particularly regarding security measures.

“There’s no question there are issues that arise, but we have to address them effectively, together,” Kuncham said. “Freeport has always had an unwavering commitment in order to provide a safe and secure environment for our students and staff. Like any other institution in this world, we acknowledge the importance of reviewing our processes and procedures, especially the security measures in place.”

The meeting concluded with a call for collaboration from Kuncham and Jordan-Awalom, emphasizing the community’s collective responsibility to ensure safe and conducive learning environments. Attendees were urged to be part of the solution and embrace a collaborative approach.

In her closing remarks, Jordan-Awalom expressed hope that the concerns raised would reach village officials, highlighting the need for broader community attention.

The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Dec. 6 at Freeport High School at 7:30 p.m.