By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Superintendent of Orange Public Schools Vince Scarpetti announced at the Board of Education’s April 23 meeting that the district has added an anonymous safety tip line to its web page.
The tip line is intended for students, parents, and community members to securely report the possibility of any potential threats involving students or schools.
Scarpetti said he expected information about the tip line to go out to parents around the first week of May.
“When we talk about safety and security measures, it’s not just with the fortitude of our buildings,” Scarpetti said in introducing the measure.
The tip line is not meant for emergencies; it will be checked only on Monday through Friday during regular business hours. The first page of the form provides the number for the Orange Police Department and 9-1-1.
The tip line is located at the very bottom of the Orange Public Schools homepage. Clicking on it brings users to a series of simple forms they can fill out to report the details of a suspicion or incident. Reporters are encouraged to provide as much information as possible and to do so “in good faith.”
Scarpetti said the layout for the system came largely from the Wallingford public schools, which already has a similar service in place.
In a separate action, the BOE voted to end the school year on Friday, June 15. It had been set to end the following Monday, but the extra day was not required under state law, which mandates a minimum of 180 school days.
Screenshot of the Orange Public Schools recently launched safety tip line.