For Immediate Release:

Local Reps planning school safety forum

Rep. John Gannon and Rep. Laura Sibilia have been contacted by and are having conversations with a number of individuals in the Deerfield Valley following the Florida and Fair Haven, VT school incidents.  There is a significant discussion about school safety happening throughout Vermont.

The Governor has stated he wants to “determine if we are doing all we can to prevent violence.”

The Speaker of the House has stated, “If we think school shootings are something that need to be changed, and I do, then we all need – at the local, state, and federal level – to come up with a plan that fits our values.”

Their is a sense of urgency to the conversations happening in Montpelier, led by the Governor, Speaker and Senate Pro Tem, which includes considering new safety measures as well as legislation increasing regulation of guns. Rep. Gannon and Rep. Sibilia are working to ensure residents, students, staff, and law enforcement in the Deerfield Valley communities are able to weigh in. Planning for a public forum in mid-March is underway.

The public forum will be for the purposes of learning what people are thinking about regarding our schools and safety and what additional actions we can or should take to protect students and the Second Amendment.

Representatives from the WCSU and WSWSU Supervisory Unions have been invited to participate in the planning of the forum. An additional announcement will be made finalizing the date and place of the agenda after Town Meeting.

Questions from residents of the Deerfield Valley on the upcoming school safety forum can be sent to Rep. John Gannon at jgannon@leg.state.vt.us or Rep. Laura Sibilia at lsibilia@leg.state.vt.us