Parents, staff and community urge transparency, debate SROs and tech after leaked documents

At a Tuesday board meeting, more than a dozen parents and community members used the newly broadened public-comment period to press Penfield Central School District leaders for more transparency about a recent safety incident and to offer differing views on security measures.

Several speakers said internal district emails and documents about school security were leaked and circulated on social media. "Please stop leaking internal communications and documents, and certainly never leak parent emails," parent and mental-health professional Sarah Gardner said, describing leaks she said had circulated last year and this year and saying the leaks erode trust. Jeff Gardner, another parent, said the disclosure of internal security vulnerabilities online was "dangerous and irresponsible" and urged the district to present parents and staff with an overview of security options before soliciting community input.

Other speakers called for more visible law-enforcement presence inside schools. Jonathan LaRue urged the board to "station SROs inside of our schools for faster, more effective responses," citing national statistics about response times. Haley Sweatman, a parent and spouse of a veteran police officer, said SROs should be armed and highly trained; she said credentialing and transparency about the qualifications of Blackhawk guards are needed before parents can be reassured.

Several public commenters favored relational, mental-health'oriented approaches. Becca Johnson, president of Penfield SEPTA, urged a "relationship based safety model" that focuses on trusted adults in daily school life. Megan Callan and others described positive experiences with school staff responding to behavioral incidents and welcomed expanded mental-health supports; one parent noted the district now has seven staff trained in therapeutic crisis intervention (TCI).

Comments also included a call for technology-based detection. Monica Welling, a parent, recommended the district explore AI-powered systems such as ZeroEyes or similar weapons-detection platforms that she said can identify threats inside buildings and alert law enforcement.

Other public speakers raised procedural concerns. Kathy Lechner, a retired nurse and school-health professional, asked the board to clarify whether FERPA or staff access to student records creates a safety problem; the district did not present an explanation in the meeting. Community members also criticized what they described as inconsistent security at public events and parking enforcement that can block emergency access.

The board president and superintendent said the district must balance transparency with confidentiality and legal limits on disclosing student information. Potter corrected one social-media claim that a photograph of an illegally parked car showed his vehicle, saying it did not. "It's important to understand the difference between confidentiality and transparency," the board president said during closing remarks.

The public comments session reflected a range of views in the community: calls for more transparency and stronger vetting of contractors; competing proposals for relationship-based staffing versus armed SROs; interest in additional technology; and worry about the harms caused by leaked internal communications.