Two serious safety incidents involving students continued this week to concern the community as officials in the Springs and East Hampton School Districts addressed the issues with parents.
A Springs School student-athlete shot at one of his peers with a BB pellet gun on a bus returning from a middle school football game in East Moriches on Oct. 20, prompting an investigation by both school officials and the town police. Several days later, a Springs student was arrested after allegedly making a violent threat on social media; he is charged as a juvenile with one count of making a terroristic threat, a felony, and with making a threat of mass harm, a misdemeanor.
The incidents have prompted tough questions about school safety procedures, student privacy versus public safety, and students’ mental, social, and emotional well-being. Citing student privacy rules, school officials and town police have not released many details about either incident.
About 100 parents showed up at a meeting held by Springs officials after school on Friday, which members of the press were not permitted to attend. In a follow-up email on Tuesday, Debra Winter, the Springs superintendent, said the district was advised to not release specific information in order to protect everyone’s safety at school.
“The key to keeping our students and staff safe is proactive measures, as simple as ensuring all doors are secure at all times [and] that we all take responsibility if we hear or see something . . . as well as all the programs we provide to our students to help them make good choices,” Ms. Winter wrote. “The topic of metal detectors came up, searching backpacks daily, as well as armed guards. There are pros and cons to all and [they] would require discussion, policy, funding, and insurance. The safety and security of our staff and students continues to be our number one priority.”
Middle school football practice was canceled for two days after the BB gun incident and Kathy Masterson, East Hampton’s athletic director, gave the team a talking-to. Springs School officials have not released information about disciplinary measures except to describe them as “restorative practices.”
An apparent forced resignation of at least one East Hampton Middle School football coach, David Fiorello, drew comment from Kelly McKee, an assistant varsity football coach at the high school, during Tuesday’s East Hampton School Board meeting. Mr. Fiorello had been part of the football program for 19 years, according to Mr. McKee, who asserted that “a very harsh decision” was “made too quickly.”
In addition to Mr. Fiorello, a second middle school coach and varsity wrestling assistant coach, Robert Rivera, also resigned. Both stepped down on Oct. 26.
“He’s been a phenomenal coach — and you all agree with me, because for the last 19 years, you have stamped his name in every single year. You know what a great job he has done. And it’s really disappointing to force him to resign,” Mr. McKee said.
He suggested that coaches lack information on what to do in case of issues on school buses. “In all my years, I’ve never sat down with an athletic director or an administrator and gone over what happens on a bus if there’s a situation that’s a problem.”
J.P. Foster, the board president, responded by reminding Mr. McKee and the public that the board is not allowed to comment on personnel issues, but he added, “There’s always more to a story.”
John Ryan Sr., a longtime East Hampton School Board member, then made a statement. “Even if we cannot discuss personnel, we could discuss the whole situation. As a system, there was a mistake made,” he said. “There was a very serious incident and there was a mistake made. And I think the coaches would say that they made a mistake. And I think you could go to the parents, the police, administration, the other school districts, and they all did things wrong, because that’s the way it is when you’re faced with a situation. But then just to single out two people and say, ‘That’s
the problem,’ I think the system has to be questioned, not the person.”
Separately, East Hampton officials addressed the social media threat during Tuesday’s school board meeting. The police had been able to “swiftly” determine it was not a credible threat, according to a Police Department press release, nevertheless a 13-year-old Springs student was arrested in the matter on Oct. 26.
Adam Fine, the East Hampton superintendent, reiterated the commitment in middle and high school to offer students the tools for social-emotional well-being and to provide education around social media. These involve an extensive list of ongoing programs embedded into the schools’ programs, the superintendent said, “throughout the day, every day.”
One East Hampton School Board member, Jackie Lowey, called on parents to monitor their children’s social media use more closely.
“Schools play a lot of roles. We educate, but at the end of the day . . . I view social media as a parental responsibility,” she said. “We are in dire need of additional parental partnership on watching out for your kids and watching what they’re doing. We as a board will continue to provide resources and I’m happy that we’re conducting programs that are embedded into the school day — but embed it into their butts when they get home. It is a parental responsibility at the end of the day. They’re your kids and school discipline is the last — the last — defense.”