Seymour Schools Superintendent Susan Compton and Rich Kearns.
SEYMOUR — The Seymour school district’s security director retired June 9 after 20 years on the job.
“I am leaving with a heavy heart,” Rich Kearns said.
The horror of the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings made security as important as lesson planning in American schools over the past 24 year. Seymour officials said Kearns’ emergency and disaster response plans over the years received national recognition.
Kearns said there were no formal emergency plans in place when he arrived.
“Most all exterior doors at all of our buildings were unlocked, doors were propped open and people would simply walk in any building any time through any door. There was no accountability of who was on any campus and for what reasons,” Kearns said.
People had been using Seymour’s school grounds during school hours for recreation purposes, such as walking their dogs and just plain hanging out, Kearns said. He said people were also using SHS’ school track during the day, interfering with student activities, and some even entered the school to use the water fountains. The road behind the school was being used as a cut-through to the high school by tractor trailers, speeding cars and public buses, Kearns said.
Those things had to change in modern America.
Kearns and others took action to ensure the safety of students, from closing a road to installing security cams, to tracking who’s on campus at all times.
“I then said to (the school board) that we can no longer have the attitude that nothing is ever going to happen in Seymour,” Kearns said. “We have to have the attitude that bad things can happen here and ask ourselves what can we do to prevent these bad things from happening, what can we do to prepare and what can we do to recover.”
Two decades later, Kearns said he’s leaving the schools as a safer place.
“We have armed officers in all our buildings which puts a first responder on site to respond to emergencies, our staff continues to be proactive in school security, we have implemented annual active shooter response training for students and staff, our Seymour Emergency Services departments are actively involved in our school community, and we have a proactive supportive group of Board of Education Members and a superintendent who support school safety.”
Programs And Accolades
Kearns also secured more than $1 million in grants, services and equipment for the schools.
One of his proudest moments came when Kearns was flown to Washington D.C. to address the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA on a pilot program Seymour participated in for disaster preparedness, “Students Tools for Emergency Planning.”
“Our program presentation was chosen as the national model for the program that is presented throughout the country to this day in participating schools across the country,” Kearns said.
Kearns said he is going to miss the students he developed a rapport with over the years, which made it easier for students to confide in him, especially when it came to thwarting potentially dangerous situations.
“A couple of years ago, I invited the Sandy Hook Promise “See Something Say Something” program to our schools to speak about school safety,” Kearns recalled. “Within days of the presentation several students came forward with information of students who were planning a school shooting. The information was corroborated and deemed highly credible to which we were able to thwart a potential school shooting.”
Having worked so long keeping kids safe, Kearns, the father of four, said he’s now turning his attention to spending time with his grandkids and maybe doing some fishing.
What His Colleagues Are Saying
Superintendent of Schools Susan Compton thanked Kearns for a job well done.
“Rich Kearns was a school safety leader not only for Seymour and the Valley, but for the whole state of Connecticut. His safety plans and protocols that he put in place were used as a role model for the state, and especially after the tragedy of Sandy Hook. He has been a leader on the national level, regarding the best practices regarding School Safety and School Security.”
SHS Principal James Freund worked very closely with Kearns for the past 20 years.
“I consider Mr. Kearns a brother,” Freund said. “He has helped our students live in a safe world and in a safe learning environment.”
Board of Education Chairman Chris Champagne said finding someone to fill Kearns’ shoes will be tough.
“Mr. Kearns is one of a kind and it will be a near impossible task to find an equal replacement,” Champagne said. “I wish him a long and healthy retirement.”
Champagne said the board hopes to have a replacement in place prior to the start of the new school year this fall.
