Police Out in Force at All Montville Schools

Montville Police are out in force today at all Montville schools; in the parking lots and on the grounds, stationed near doorways and inside the buildings watching and guarding school children.

"The goal? High, very high visibility," said Montville Police Lt. Leonard J. Bunnell as he stood sentinel at Mohegan Elementary School this morning.

As reported Sunday, the plan was to make sure police were posted at each and every school. 

“And we’ll patrol the parking lots of all the schools. We don’t want to upset children, disrupt school schedules, but we will be present,” Resident State Trooper Sgt. Martin said. 

We caught up with Montville Public Schools Resource Officer Karen Moorehead this morning as she was running from Tyl Middle to Montville High School. She said, "everything seems normal, but with heightened alertness, but otherwise, we want it to feel like a normal day. And it does."

And that's a good thing for students.

Schools Superintendent Pamela Aubin told Patch Sunday that “all security and safety plans are in place.”

She said the horror of the school shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown “reminds why we have all the drills we do.”

“But despite the best laid plans, horrible things happen and it doesn’t matter if you’re an urban or suburban school.  But we are as prepared as we can be. The children’s safety is our first priority,” Aubin said. 

The big question: How long will increased security remain? We've asked that question and when we get an answer, we'll let you know.