Kenmore-Tonawanda outlines 2025–26 safety-plan updates, rolls out anonymous tip line and plans expanded security

The Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District presented changes to its 2025–26 district and building safety plans Tuesday, including a districtwide anonymous reporting tool and additional building security measures, Superintendent Zamato and Director of School Culture Dina Feraccio said.

Feraccio, who presented the plan, said the district’s safety planning follows guidance from the New York State Education Department and that the draft is posted on the district website for public comment through the end of the month. “This plan is a public plan that we present on the website each year,” she said.

The presentation highlighted several specific updates. Feraccio described a new Say Something Anonymous Reporting System funded by Sandy Hook Promise and said students have been trained to use the app, website and hotline. “This is a way for our students to just anonymously report anything that they really feel like they might be in danger from,” she said, adding the crisis center that fields tips will contact school administrators and, for life‑threatening tips, the Village of Kenmore Police.

The district also clarified emergency-action terminology to match state guidance: what had been called a “lockout” will be labeled “secure lockout” to reduce confusion with “lockdown.” Feraccio said the underlying actions have not changed; the added word is intended to indicate securing the building in response to an outside threat rather than an interior threat. She said a new “after‑school annex” will be added to the plan to cover safety at extracurricular events.

Feraccio outlined small drill clarifications required by state compliance: large‑space settings such as cafeterias need not host full, physical drills if students are trained and know the procedures; demonstration and training suffice. She also described screening and monitoring tools the district will deploy in secondary schools and said training for security staff and a new focus on supervised arrival and dismissal times are priorities.

The presentation included a district goal Feraccio framed as a plan for next year: “We will have full time armed security in each building including all of the elementary schools, which is a change from this year.” She also said the district will implement daily screening at the secondary schools using its open‑gate weapons‑of‑mass‑casualty system.

No formal board vote on the safety plan was recorded at the meeting; Feraccio and Zamato said the draft remains on the website for comment and will be revised if necessary after the public‑comment period.

The superintendent and staff emphasized training and coordination with local law enforcement if anonymous tips indicate imminent risk. Feraccio directed community members to the posted plan and to email her with questions.

The presentation was followed by no public questions during the meeting’s opportunity for safety‑plan comments.