Parents demand more security after weapons arrests at Riverhead Middle School: school board report

Parents want more security in Riverhead schools after recent incidents where three students were arrested for bringing weapons into Riverhead Middle School.

Parents told the Riverhead Board of Education during its meeting last night that they were afraid for their children’s safety in school buildings after the incidents Friday and Monday, and they called on the governing body to pass measures to beef up physical security.

Superintendent Augustine Tornatore assured parents that school administration is taking the incidents seriously. In light of these incidents, the district has decided to relocate some outdoor events to indoor locations in order to better control crowds, Tornatore said. The district is also working with the Riverhead Police Department on increased coverage of events that will remain outdoors, like graduation, he said. 

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In just the last week, three middle school students were arrested on weapon possession charges. Two students arrested Friday were found to be in possession of two knives and a BB gun, while an additional student arrested Monday was found to be in possession of a knife, according to Riverhead Police.

The incidents have added even more pressure on school administrators, who several months ago were met with previous requests by students and parents to reevaluate security measures after a student was arrested for bringing stray bullets into the high school.

“I have to speak because my oldest is now going to the middle school, and I can’t fathom him being in a hallway with guns and knives or BB guns, whatever it is,” said parent Jason Ranghelli. He told board members and district administrators they must take school safety “as seriously as possible.”

“And whatever the steps are, I know I’m willing to forgo some inconvenience for students to make sure that my son and daughter is safe in school,” he said.

Parent Jim DiStefano received applause from the audience when he suggested some solutions to the board, including metal detectors, outsourcing security to a private firm and the presence of a school resource officer from the police department in school buildings.

District Security Director Terry Culhane has said in a previous interview the district is “always exploring” metal detectors and has been meeting with vendors, but the high volume of people going in and out of schools each day could make it difficult to effectively screen everyone. Tornatore said in a previous interview that he would welcome a school resource officer if they are paid in full by the Riverhead Police Department.

At the start of the meeting, Tornatore said the district is looking at “additional security measures” for the new school year. In a post-meeting interview, he added that everything brought up by parents was “on the table for discussion.”

“Based on our review of those measures and their appropriateness for our district, the board will make a decision as to how we move forward,” Tornatore said during the meeting. “When these decisions are finalized, we will update the community to the fullest extent possible, keeping in mind that for security purposes, we cannot reveal all our protocols and practices.”

Parent’s also criticized the school district’s messages after the students were apprehended. The message from the middle school principal informing the community of Monday’s incidents said there were “no safety concerns for students.”

“Were they really safe?” Ranghelli asked the board. “Because the weapons were in school. They got in school.” His remarks drew applause from the dozens of residents who attended the meeting. Two town police officers were also in attendance.

Tornatore said any student caught bringing weapons onto school grounds “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” which could mean a police record that can have “serious consequences on their future graduation plans.”

“We also ask that parents work with their children and discuss with them about what is going on in the buildings,” Tornatore said. “And we also ask the parents and guardians spend time and discuss about checking backpacks and really asking children as to why they may be feeling certain ways or feeling any type of safety concerns which would lead for them to want to bring a weapon into school.”

Besides hearing form the community during the meeting, the Riverhead Board of Education:

• Recognized guard David Lopez, who recently stopped a middle school student from choking by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
• Approved the annual employment contracts of 10 district employees not subject to the collective bargaining process, which included giving raises to current district employees. The board did not vote to approve the employment contracts of 10 other district employees, which includes high level administrators like Tornatore, the district’s assistant superintendents and department directors. With only four trustees in attendance at the meeting, and four votes needed to pass any board motion, outgoing Trustee Christopher Dorr blocked the vote. “These 10 individuals make up $1.5 million of our payroll. I think any raises they would be receiving would be better spent on some sort of security improvements in the district,” he said. “At this point, I don’t think it would be prudent to give them raises.”
• Hired a new district treasurer, Jeffrey Bogdan, at an annual salary of $95,000 with benefits. Bogdan will start July 1. On May 23, the board accepted the resignation of the district’s current treasurer, Janette Velardi, effective June 30. Velardi was hired on Tuesday as the district’s purchasing agent, the position she held before she assumed the role of treasurer at the beginning of the current school year, at an annual salary of $86,700 with benefits.
• Authorized utilizing two New York State Office of General Services contracts for district-wide security upgrades in an amount not to exceed $1,548,249. The district started a multi-phase project to upgrade the district’s security last year that includes upgrading the district’s security cameras, implementing door access technology at school entryways and cyber security upgrades, school officials said. 
• Created the position of the Director of Social Emotional Learning, English as a New Language and Special Programs and Community Outreach effective July 1. The board in a previous meeting abolished the administrative position of Director of English as a Second Language K-12. The board hired Emily Sanz in the new position on May 23 at an annual salary of $161,485.
• Honored outgoing trustees Christopher Dorr and Therese Zuhoski. Both trustees chose not to seek reelection this year.
• Honored retirees Arthur Apicello, elementary teacher; Christopher Butterfield, social studies teacher; Stacey Butterfield, elementary teacher; Debra Clark, school nurse; Donna Elmore, elementary teacher; Diane Houghton, cook; Edward Kneski, social studies teacher; Kathleen Lynch, teaching assistant; Scott McKillop, social studies teacher; John Potter, guard; Karen Raffel, social studies teacher; Catherine Rosenstock, school nurse; and Marilyn Ross, guard.
• Gave tenure to Camille Doherty, math teacher; Patrick Fabian, physical education teacher; Maria Garcia-Velasquez, social worker; Gary Karlson Jr., assistant principal; Bryan Miltenberg, principal; Sandra Quinteros, guidance counselor; and Sean O’Hara, principal.

Correction June 16, 2023: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the Riverhead Board of Education has not yet hired somebody to fill the new position of Director of Social Emotional Learning, English as a New Language and Special Programs and Community Outreach. The board hired Emily Sanz in the new position on May 23, before the position was created.