Norwich posting sex offender alerts

Norwich - The public school system will offer an alert on the district's Web site whenever a sexual offender moves into the city, according to a policy adopted last week by the Board of Education.

Following a lengthy budget discussion and vote, the board on Tuesday adopted a one-page policy to govern notification of sexual offenders moving into Norwich and how the school system would treat a registered sexual offender - such as a parent or guardian - who needs to come to a school.

Interim Superintendent Abby Dolliver said she referred the issue to the board's policy committee after a principal informed her that a parent of a student is on the registry. She said the district has "a few" parents or guardians who are registered sexual offenders.

The new policy makes reference to a state law passed last July that mandates the state Department of Public Safety notify the superintendent whenever a registered sexual offender moves into that school district. The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education made a further recommendation that member boards post that information on their districts' Web sites.

As of Friday, the registry had 80 Norwich residents listed. The Norwich public schools Web site, www.norwichpublicschools.org, already has a link to the state Department of Public Safety registry - first under the menu item for "helpful resources" and then "parent/guardian resources."

Now, the Web site also will list any new notifications the superintendent receives under the state law, giving the name, address and photo of sexual offenders newly registered as living in Norwich. Dolliver sent a note to other school districts in the region to see if they have sexual offender policies and found that Waterford has a similar posting.

John LeVangie, chairman of the board's policy committee, said the policy will try to balance public and school safety with the privacy and rights of the registered sexual offender.

Any parent or guardian listed as a sexual offender "will be accompanied by a school district employee while the parent is on school property for a purpose related to his/her child," the new policy states. "Such parents may also attend any event that is open to the public."

The policy also mandates that school officials check the registry before hiring new employees or allowing a volunteer to work with students "in any capacity."

LeVangie said no public safety incident prompted the board policy, including comments during last fall's City Council election campaign. Candidate Diane Slopak complained at the time that students had to walk past registered sexual offenders' homes near the Wequonnoc School.

"This shouldn't be considered anything controversial," LeVangie said. "The Web site will be done in as discreet a manner as we can."

Vincent Mustaro, senior staff associate for police services at CABE, said the agency recommends all its member boards of education adopt similar policies, taking the state notification law one step further to ensure that parents receive the information.

He added that boards also need to address the public access to school buildings for public events, including voting.

CABE sample policies are available on the organization's Web site, www.cabe.org.

The sexual offender registration starts with Norwich police, said Lt. William Molis, head of the department's records division.

Police receive notification from the state Department of Corrections or other sources that a registered sexual offender is being released into the community.

When someone on the list moves into Norwich or changes address, that person is required to report to police.

Norwich police then send the information to the state registry, which then issues bulletins to superintendents.

c.bessette@theday.com