Pacifica School District Superintendent Responds to Connecticut Shooting

The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday morning horrified the nation and left parents questioning how they can protect their children.

Twenty-seven people were killed — the majority of them children between the ages of 5 and 10 — at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The violence is the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Residents in Pacifica posted on Facebook, wondering if the local school district is prepared for such an emergency and how the Pacifica School District intends to keep that emergency from even happening.

Maureen Corps asks, “Are local schools up on emergency plans?”

Jody Holman Webster writes, “I would like to hear from the Pacifica School District what we will be doing to protect our own schools. I realize there are bureaucratic, monetary and logistical challenges, but right now, anyone can walk into any of our elementary schools relatively unchecked. Will the board at least put the discussion on the table? Cameras, check ins...?!! Inquiring minds want to know! We have only just instituted guest check in policies, which cannot be enforced, but we have no entrance protection for our schools."

Matthew Levie, Pacifica School District board of education member, said that “the district does have an emergency plan and every employee knows how to act in case of an emergency. We work extremely closely with the Pacfica Police Department.”

Pacifica School District superintendent Wendy Tukloff said that the school district understands the need to have plans in place that are not only proactive but also support emergencies that may arise.

"We have emergency plans at both a district-wide and school level," said Tukloff to Patch in an e-mail. "We review the plans annually to ensure we are current in practice and work closely with Pacifica Police Department. Schools practice emergency drills throughout the year, thus putting our plans into action. As for visitors on campus, all visitors are to sign in at the front office and wear an identifier such as a visitor pass or name tag."

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