Mayor Richard Webb

For those who don't know me, I'm Mayor Richard Webb.

Thank you all for coming tonight.

Before we begin, I want to thank Janet Morrison and the Community Center volunteers for setting up all the chairs, the refreshments, and these beautiful photo displays in such a short time.

I know it couldn't have been easy.

I know this is... I know how difficult this is.

for all of us, but especially for the families.

Two days ago, our community suffered an unimaginable loss.

23 children, 23 bright, beautiful souls who should be sitting in their classrooms right now, laughing with their friends, driving their parents crazy with homework questions.

These photos behind me, take a look at them.

Really look at them.

These weren't just statistics.

These were our children.

Our future.

Now, I've been in contact with the State Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Education, and federal coordinators.

We've been working around the clock to implement new safety measures.

First, we're upgrading the emergency broadcast systems on all school buses.

New receivers, triple redundancy, battery backups that can last up to 72 hours.

Second, we're implementing mandatory emergency response drills.

Every week, students will practice the protocols, how to stay quiet, how to remain still, how to listen for instructions.

Third, we're installing panic buttons on every bus, direct line to dispatch, GPS tracking, real-time monitoring.