Stonington ― Uncertainty, confusion and a lack of transparency marked a September incident that resulted in the arrest of a parent for possession of a weapon on school grounds and disciplinary action against an administrator, according to a school district report.

The Oct. 26 report by Alisha Stripling, director of finance and personnel, followed a district investigation into a Sept. 22 incident at the West Vine Street School during which police seized a tan and green colored Glock 19 9mm handgun, a 10-round magazine, and a valid pistol permit belonging to Vincent Parker, 38, of 21 Locust St.

Parker was charged with possession of a gun on school grounds, a felony, on Sept. 29, and released on a promise to appear in New London Superior Court. He made his first appearance Oct. 11. His next court date is Nov. 21.

Parker, who has a valid pistol permit, told police on the day of his arrest he was not supposed to pick up his children on that day and was instead supposed to go to the shooting range. He claimed the gun was never in the open.

The report identified a number of missteps by Assistant Principal AnneFay Sullivan and other staff at West Vine Street School and recommended discipline or coaching for Sullivan, coaching for all staff on protocols involving weapons on school property, a review of district safety procedures and how communication with stakeholders is handled.

According to the report, on Sept. 21, Moira Lemay, a paraprofessional at the school, notified Sullivan that she thought she had seen a gun in Parker’s car for three consecutive days including Sept. 21.

The report indicated that Sullivan believed Lemay may have seen a toy gun, because Lemay expressed some uncertainty about the object she saw in the car on Sept. 19, 20 and 21, because she did not have a clear view of it, and it had an unusual appearance.

The report also indicated that Lemay was “reluctant to make a false report about a parent.” She was not familiar with the state’s gun laws or district policies regarding weapons on school grounds, which led to her hesitation to report the potential sighting the first two days.

The ambiguity of the situation, combined with her knowledge of the family, led Sullivan to delay reporting the incident to police until the following day, when Sullivan witnessed the tan and green gun on Parker’s front seat during parent pickup.

According to the report, Sullivan immediately called Officer Kerry Browning, the Stonington Public Schools’ youth officer, to report the presence of the weapon. She said Browning assured her police were on the way. Police told her to keep Parker’s children in the building and have Parker pull to the side lot of the school, where parents normally go when their child is not immediately ready for pickup.

Stripling’s report said that Sullivan then instructed Jacqueline Longo, a teacher at the school, to tell Parker to pull out of the parent pick up line, because one of his children was in the bathroom, and that Longo had two children behind her when she approached his vehicle. Longo said she did not see the gun during the interaction.

Parker’s two children were taken to the school’s main office so they would not see their father with police officers. Parker was calm and cooperative during the interaction with police, the report said.

The following day, Longo asked Principal Kathryn Irvine and Sullivan for more details on the incident, but “minimal information was shared with her at that time.” Longo was frustrated by the lack of information provided and upset that she had been instructed to approach Parker’s vehicle after Sullivan had confirmed there was a gun in the car, according to the report.

Stripling’s report indicated school administration’s failure to immediately communicate with impacted individuals resulted in increased fear and damaged the trust between staff and the administration.

Additionally, Stripling wrote that “no staff member should have been instructed to approach a vehicle that contained a firearm.”

In a disciplinary letter written by Superintendent Mary Anne Butler, Sullivan was reprimanded for failure to contact police or Parker on Sept. 21, despite her awareness that Parker may have brought a firearm to the school on three consecutive days.

Butler wrote that she believed Sullivan’s actions were based on a desire to not cause alarm and to protect the dignity of the Parker family. Sullivan’s composure during the incident was “commendable and resulted in a dismissal process that remained orderly and avoided igniting fear in others.”

Butler’s letter also addressed the lack of communication cited by Longo and teacher’s union President Bruce Yarnall at an Oct. 14 Board of Education meeting, saying it had “exacerbated the fear of the impacted parties.”

Yarnall said on Thursday that safety and teacher concerns need to be taken seriously. He said he hopes the administration and teachers can work cooperatively to ensure the safety of teachers, students and families, and that effective communication protocols will be put in place that will allow all stakeholders to make informed decisions.

On Thursday, Butler provided an update on the district’s response to the incident via email.

She said the district, along with teacher and paraeducator union leadership, met with Deputy Police Chief Todd Olson on Oct. 19 and will continue relying on police guidance to improve processes and protocols.

Additionally, the district is using the findings of the report to address professional development needs. Assistant Superintendent Tim Smith, recently certified as a Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines trainer, will train the district’s mental health professionals next week. Building administrators and Butler completed the first half of their training and will be fully trained by the middle of the month.

Butler said that the district would continue to remind staff at upcoming professional development and staff meetings that they should act immediately if they suspect there is a weapon on school grounds by contacting an administrator for help or calling 911 before contacting an administrator.

“This incident is a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and preparedness in our educational institutions,” said Farouk Rajab, chairman of the Board of Education, by email on Thursday. “I recognize, based on our investigation, that we made several mistakes in our response to a potentially dangerous situation on our school grounds. A swift and decisive action should have been taken earlier than it did, and I am very sorry that it did not.”