By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — While the tense atmosphere surrounding last week’s shootings of three local youths seems to have lessened, extra security measures remain in effect at the city’s schools.

Meanwhile, two top school officials on Monday defended the last-minute decision to call for a lockdown on Friday and a cancellation of many weekend sports and extracurricular activities that took many by surprise.
Schools Supt. Hans Dellith said that in response to widespread rumors concerning violence and possible retaliation for last weekend’s shootings, he made the decision to place the schools in a “lockdown.” This meant that students stayed inside for recess and were basically kept inside their classrooms, while teachers and other staff were asked to be in a “supervisory” role in the way of being extra vigilant.
In addition, extra precautions were taken to lock all school doors and to strictly monitor who was entering the school buildings, said Dellith.
While sports and other activities have been allowed to resume, Dellith said that most of the extra security measures will remain in place. “We’re still keeping a tighter lid on who gets into the schools,” he stated.  He noted that most of these security procedures are long-standing, dating back to the Sept. 11,2001 terrorist attacks, but that “sometimes people get lax” about enforcement.
Of the situation last week, Dellith would only say that “the kids had made up an awful lot of rumors, and
there was no substantiation to any of it.” He said, however, that he felt it was necessary to take extra precautions. “I was in constant contact with the police. They collaborated with us on every step,” he added.
Dellith noted that the type of lockdown instituted in the schools is not the same scenario as in a prison situation, although he knows the term conjurs up that idea. “We were just being careful about who was going in and who was going out of the building,” he said. He added that the state requires school districts to hold two lockdown drills per year as a matter of course.
School Committee Chairman Gordon Gould said that once he learned of Dellith’s concerns, he was fully supportive of both the lockdown measures and the cancellation of activities. “I know Hans (Dellith) and I did the right thing. We did it for the safety of the children...for the safety of everybody,” he added.
Gould said he knows that there are some on the School Committee who feel that they should have been notified, but said he had only gotten word about the situation late Thursday night. “Perhaps, there wan’t enough notice, but we took precautions. Lives come first,” he noted.
Gould said that last Wednesday night, in the wake of rampant rumors about possible trouble between youths at Shea High School and Slater Junior High, he and Dellith and some members of the local police department met with area parents at Slater Junior High to get feedback. Although, he said there weren’t as many parents in attendance as they would have liked, he said the meeting went well.
However, he said that when more rumors and information surfaced about potential violence occurring on Friday, the day of Helder Tomar’s funeral, it led to the decisions that were made.
Gould said that while he knows that some of his fellow committee members received phone calls from some angry parents, he said that he, personally, did not. He said he received two phone calls from parents who were in support of the decision.
Gould said he is aware that some on the committee are calling for an emergency meeting to discuss Friday’s actions, but said he is not sure whether this type of session can be held. He said he is waiting for advice from the schools’ legal counsel on the matter.
School Committeeman David Coughlin said that he is one of those who had asked for the emergency session in order to find out why the rest of the School Committee wasn’t briefed on the issue. He said that while he believes no one on the committee is arguing with the decision to increase safety precautions, he and other members feel they were not adequately informed.
Coughlin said that over the weekend, he received calls from both parents and students wanting to know what happened on Friday. As an elected official, he said he thinks it was inexcusable to not have been comprehensively briefed on the matter. He said he had been told by Dellith’s secretary on Monday afternoon that no emergency meeting is going to be held.
 “I would like to know why this breakdown in communication occurred,” said Coughlin.