NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Chairwoman of the Newport News School Board apologized during a Thursday press conference about the shooting that injured a 25-year-old teacher at Richneck Elementary School.
Amanda D'onofrio has a child at another Newport News elementary school and attended Thursday's press conference. She said she's frustrated that the shooting happened and that the school board held the press conference during business hours when many parents were unable to attend.
"I think we're really tired of thoughts and prayers and what we want are the thoughts to be actions," she said.
D'onofrio is one of many Newport News parents pleading for the school district to step up their safety.
During Thursday's press conference, the school board announced they will make some changes to strengthen security at schools. While they said they have secured funding to put metal detectors in all 90 schools, they are unsure of the timeline of when these metal detectors will be installed.
Additionally, they are calling on the school district to hold district-wide community conversations and specific conversations with teachers regarding safety.
However, D'onofrio said that changes for safety can't wait, saying the security measures in place right now are inadequate.
"I would really like a timeline on that but I don’t and I’d really like to know while we are waiting for the metal detectors what else are you going to do? Are you going to put a police presence at the schools, are you going to bring in a security guard, are you going to make the schools single point of access."
The school board acknowledged the concerns of parents, saying their top priority is to keep students safe.
“The school board is fully committed to restoring our teachers, staff and communities' trust and confidence in the e division and to do the work that is needed to be done to keep our school community safe,” Lisa Surles-Law, the chairwoman, said.
The district held a closed-door meeting with Richneck Elementary School parents on Thursday night.
At this time, the district hasn't released a timeline for when students and staff will return, but the board said they will give additional updates next week.
