Dear Chatham Families,
At the regularly scheduled Columbia County Safe Schools meeting today, we were informed that there will be additional patrols and law enforcement presence on our campuses for the remainder of the school year. This increase in law enforcement presence across the region is the result of a directive Governor Hochul issued following the tragic events in Uvalde, Texas and is not in response to any specific threat.
I wanted you to be aware of this as you may notice members of the Chatham Police Department, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, and the NYS Police in and around our schools. We are grateful for their service and the additional attention they will be giving us.
As you know, taking any extra precautions is important as we never want to get complacent in regard to safety at school.
Again, there has been no threat made to Chatham Central School District.
In regard to this morning's lockout, I wanted to reiterate with our families that this safety measure was taken out of an abundance of caution due to an alleged threat made to a nearby school district. In a lockout, which is very different from a lockdown, there are no outdoor activities and no visitors are allowed to enter the school buildings, but otherwise school activities continue as normal.
As always, if you do see or hear something that does not feel or seem right, please do not hesitate to bring it to the attention of any school staff member, our school resource deputy, or local law enforcement.
Sincerely,
Sal DeAngelo, Superintendent of Schools