BOSTON — Just one day after a Murphy School teacher found a stranger inside her classroom, officials with Boston Planning and Development Agency had a virtual meeting to propose turning Comfort Inn, which is within walking distance of the school, into housing for people once homeless.
“We will also be providing 24-7 contracted private security. We wanted to ensure that our residents are as safe as they can be,” says Boston Planning and Development Agency.
But Murphy School parents want to make sure their students are also safe. They say they don’t feel comfortable with the proposed plan for the hotel.
“I think it would be better to find another place to put it not that we have a problem with helping the homeless, but it would be better to find another place not so close to the school,” says Emmanuel Paul, a Murphy School Parent.
“Safety is a big priority for all of our spaces, but especially for our schools,” says Mayor Michelle Wu.
Although no students came into contact with the stranger on Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Wu says one of the ways to ensure what happened Tuesday doesn’t happen again is to eliminate easy entry into the schools.
“We need to make sure that the larger issues that this brings up around access to doors particularly side doors and back doors that we are working very quickly to have those security protocols, and everything all lined up. Every entrance should be secure, and we are working on that,” says Mayor Wu.
For parents concerned about dropping their kids off at Murphy School after what happened, she had this to say.
“Our schools are absolutely held to a high standard for the safety and health that are inside, and we will continue to do that,” says Mayor Wu.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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