Parents and Community Invited to Monday School Safety Committee Meeting

Parents, community members and education officials will continue a dialog of how Toms River schools can be made safer on Monday evening . 

The second meeting this year of the district's Super Safe School's Committee will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the High School South cafetorium. During a meeting in January, parents shared security concerns throughout the district and recommended that a police officer should be posted in each of Toms River Regional's 18 schools. 

"The primary focus of this meeting is to review the district’s updated plans in regards to school security," the district said in a statement. "Law enforcement representatives from our four municipalities will be participating in this meeting as well."

Safety recommendations are expected to be presented to the Toms River Board of Education during their March 21 meeting at High School North. 

Superintendent of Schools Frank Roselli told a group of about 100 during the January meeting that "safety should always be number one."

"Safety is first and the district must make that commitment to the schools," he said, as only when students feel secure can they properly learn, focused only their education. 

Some parents at the subcommittee said that they want a police officer in each school, including at the elementary level. Currently, one officer is stationed at each of the three high schools and Intermediate School South, and one officer splits his time between Intermediate School North and East. The district also employs seven retired officers as security guards at its high schools.

But putting a police officer in every school does not appear to be a short-term possibility, as a tight budget already has Toms River's police department understaffed by 10 officers, said Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy following the January meeting.

"Even if they had the money tomorrow, we don't have the personnel," he said. "We don't have the resources to consider that option, at least for the rest of the year."

Those who plan to attend the meeting are asked to RSVP to the district through email.