We, the parents and residents of Merrick, NY, issue the following statements and join in the following demands of the Merrick Union Free School District, its Board of Education, and Dr. Dominick Palma, the School District Superintendent:



Given the rise in violence across the country and in our schools and communities, we are in consensus that the current security practices in our school district, and/or lack thereof, are outdated and no longer adequate to protect our children and staff.  
 

We demand that the School District take immediate action to institute new security measures in all three of our schools;

 Birch, Chatterton and Levy Lakeside, including but not limited to:


Hiring a staff of New York State licensed unarmed security guards to be stationed outside the entrances of each of the district schools.  These guards shall be trained to recognize, deter and react to potential security threats as they patrol the school grounds. 


We further demand that all discussions, meetings and votes on this matter be transparent, in an open forum, with prior reasonable notice to the public, so that we may participate in same.