State Trooper to Patrol THS Campus Tuesday

A state trooper will be spending the day at Tolland High School Tuesday as the school eases back into its normal schedule after a brief lockdown Monday afternoon.

Superintendent William Guzman made the announcement at the school board's special meeting Monday night. He also said that police found an airsoft pellet gun in a student's locker while investigating.

The school was initially put into lockdown after a student told a staff member about a rumor of a potentially violent event, Guzman said. He added that staff members were unsure if this event was going to take place on school grounds or not. State police were called in to investigate, and the school was placed on lockdown as a precaution, the superintendent said on Monday afternoon.

The student with the pellet gun has been disciplined, Guzman said. When asked, he said he could not go into further details.

School Board Chairperson Andy Powell addressed worried parents about school security at Monday night's board of education meeting.

"If we felt that it wasn't safe to have school tomorrow, we wouldn't be holding school," he said.

Guzman said that school safety is an important concern in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. He said that he has made several recent attempts to increase security, including contacting the superintendent of Region 19 to split a resource officer. Guzman said that the district was uninterested in proceeding.

Guzman is also discussing the reassignment of a Tolland resident trooper with Town Manager Steven Werbner to spend time at the THS campus every day. He explained that the officer would come at an extra cost, but that the idea is still being pursued.

"We are the only place in Tolland where 3,000 people gather," Guzman said. "We have that concentrated number of people in our schools day in and out . Why can't we get the police coverage that we need as a matter of course?"

THS Principal Dominique Fox said that the entire staff will meet Tuesday morning and will discuss how to talk about the lockdown with the students.

The school district has also undergone safety audits from the state police and Tolland's Public Safety Department.