The Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity

315 1st Street

Westfield, NJ 07090

ATTN: Rev. Anthony Randazzo, Pastor

Holy Trinity School

336 First Street

Westfield, NJ 07090

ATTN: Michael Petrillo, Principal

RE: Armed Guard/Class III Officer for Holy Trinity School

Dear Father Anthony and Mr. Petrillo:

First, we want to thank you both along with the School Advisory Board (SAB) for the work that you have done to make Holy Trinity School (HTS) a great place to send our children to. We have all been very happy with you both and the school. We also appreciate your willingness to listen to and implement ideas that address the concerns of parents.

At this time, we write to you to figure out the necessary steps required to hire an armed guard to protect the children and staff of HTS. It is our understanding that currently HTS is fortunate enough to have armed Westfield Police Officers conduct a walk-through daily of HTS approximately 2-3 various times throughout the day. We are all thankful for this and we know that Westfield Police Department does this as a courtesy and not as a requirement. It is very important to us to provide our children with an education based in Catholic faith and values, but not at the expense of their safety. In light of the recent incident that occurred involving a student in the 8th grade class making direct threats, we feel now is the time to investigate the potential hire of an armed guard to be present at HTS on a daily basis at all times. We feel empathy for this student and pray for her, but we must take such threats seriously and be vigilant when it comes to protecting our children. To be clear, the threat(s) of this student is not the only basis for an armed guard as we feel that, unfortunately, many outside threats as well as this inside threat exist for our children.

Westfield middle schools have an armed guard. This is important to note because HTS has middle school aged children. If the two middle schools in Westfield have an armed guard on their premises at all times, HTS should as well. We strongly believe that our children should be afforded that same level of security. We should inquire as to whether or not public funding for an armed guard can be ascertained from the Township of Westfield. Additionally, it is our understanding that FEMA monies may be available for such funding. More information can be found at fema.com/faith. We could also look to the parents of HTS to help possibly fund a guard based on fundraising and donations.

Please be advised that many parents have serious concerns about their children’s safety and need answers to this request as soon as possible. Many are ready, willing and able to help get a guard in place as soon as possible.

We look forward to your response.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Very Truly Yours