SOUTH DEERFIELD — Lynn Carey, superintendent of the Frontier Regional School District, presented concerns about safety to the Select Board on 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.
Select Board Chairwoman Carolyn Shores Ness agreed with the superintendent and said she would 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 resulting from a potential 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 mph, if there ever was a derailment, is that something we can fix now?” asked Select Board member Henry “Kip” Komosa.
He suggested that the town look into moving the play area to another site.
“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,” Carey 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, and the schools are really beautiful, “ she said. “Frontier Regional is just a wonderful place to be.”