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Chariho committee votes to continue anonymous tip line after public debate
Summary
After an extended public comment period in which parents and students recounted both harms and lifesaving interventions, the Chariho School Committee approved an MOU to continue using an anonymous tip‑reporting line; administrators said the system costs the district nothing and has been used primarily for concerns about self‑harm.
The Chariho Regional School District school committee voted on July 15 to approve a memorandum of understanding to continue using an anonymous tip‑reporting system. Administration framed the MOU as a no‑cost tool to help students and community members report urgent safety and mental‑health concerns.
Superintendent’s staff said the system is hosted as a link on student Chromebooks and is reviewed at advisories; they reported 23 tip reports in the fall term, primarily related to concerns that a student might harm themselves. “We had 23 students report at the beginning of this year that they were concerned about a friend who was gonna harm themselves,” a district presenter said, adding that alerts often enable timely intervention.
Public comment produced sharply divergent accounts. Amy Rodriguez, identifying herself as the Washington County chapter chair of Moms for Liberty, described an incident in another district in which an anonymous tip led to law‑enforcement contact and family distress, and urged the Chariho committee to reject the MOU. Multiple parents and a recent graduate, by contrast, described occasions when peer reporting led to emergency assessments or prevented harm. “If this saves one child, it’s worth it,” said Greg Abadesian of Huntington.
Members debated the program’s benefits and risks, including concerns about false or vindictive reports, privacy and whether tips could originate from outside district boundaries. Administration said the MOU was narrowly focused on continuing the anonymous tip line, not broader programs run by the same national organization, and offered to bring local law‑enforcement partners to a future meeting to explain coordination procedures.
After a requested roll‑call vote, the motion to approve the MOU carried.
