Colchester, VT – On Thursday, the Rotary Club of Colchester-Milton hosted a community forum on “School Safety – Protecting Our Children” at the Hampton Inn in Colchester.

One of the parents present, Lauren Blume, has a 10-month-old daughter but is worried about sending her to school due to the recent gun violence. “So his dad is from another country and because of that we had serious discussions about whether we were going to send him to school in that other country instead of the United States because he’s getting too dangerous to send your child to school,” says Blume.

Blume showed up at the community forum to better understand the issue. “One of my biggest concerns is that schools are underfunded and mental health is underfunded.”

During a panel discussion, school principals and police chiefs shared their plans. “I’ll tell you what I believe to be the most important aspect of school safety, it’s not just the relationship we have with the school district, but the relationship law enforcement has with the school district. ‘school in general, the teaching staff of the students,’ said Douglas Allen, Chief of the Colchester Police Department.

Meanwhile, Colchester School District Superintendent Amy Minor said she has procedures in place to keep students safe. “He constantly reminds everyone in our community not to buttress doors and there are some areas that we know we need to check regularly,” Minor said.

“I think our challenge is as Amy said,” said Milton School District Superintendent Amy Rex. “There are multiple entrances and students are going in and out of the building all day,” says Rex, they need to have parents as partners. “And it’s never easy for a parent to get this letter that an allegation has been made against their child, but we need their support.”

Blume says it makes her sad to know that her daughter might not have the opportunity she had to grow up. “If I have to take him somewhere safe, I will.”