MUSKEGON, Mich. — As soon as Gloria Romanosky heard about the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, she was heartbroken. She has grandchildren at the elementary school at Oakridge Public Schools and said the shooting hits close to home.
“We’re just devastated. We really, really are. It hits home,” Romanosky said during an interview with FOX 17 on Wednesday. “I feel so bad for those people that have to work through this. I truly do.”
Tuesday afternoon, a gunman entered Robb Elementary in Uvalde and killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers. According to multiple reports, he also shot his grandmother before the mass shooting.
Romanosky said she spoke with her grandchildren about undergoing active shooter training. Then, Wednesday morning she received a letter from Oakridge Public Schools Superintendent Tom Livezey about the tragedy, which he called ‘unbelievable.’
It read in part:
“Yesterday, I sent a public announcement asking parents to secure their guns in the home and asking students to report violent threats. I try to be direct yet tactful without being inflammatory with messages about the safety of our staff and students. I don’t know if anger or kindness will influence this matter. All I know is that the story of gun violence is sadly becoming routine.”
“My message to the community was just out of frustration, with the energy tank running low. It’s a last ditch effort,” Livezey said. “I refuse to be numb. I refuse to just let this be the normal. I am going to try to do what I can to make this better. But, schools can only do what schools can do.”
Livezey sent two letters to parents this week. The first one on Tuesday which encouraged parents to securely lock up their guns at home. Then, the second one on Wednesday regarding the tragedy.
The kids at his schools, he said, were feeling the pain.
“Tanks are getting on fumes with staff and the community alike,” Livezey said. “The kids are struggling and we’re doing all that we can to try and help them. But, it’s going to take us a while to get out of this.”
In the letter, he said that mass shootings have become too common and listed several of them, from Columbine to Sandy Hook to the tragedy at a supermarket in Buffalo last week. However, he assured parents about the measures they're taking at the schools to keep kids safe: installing bullet-resistant glass, having secure entries, and security cameras.
The letter continues:
“We practice emergency response drills several times each year. Yet, here we are again, sending another message of condolences to families of Uvalde who woke up this morning, if they slept at all, to their child’s bed being empty due to a murderer entering a school. Devastating! Hope is not a strategy.”
“Hope, like I said in the letter, hope is not a strategy. But, what we can do is what we can do,” he said. “We’ve got a long list of things on our website to help kids feel safe. We’re putting protocols in place. We’re recognizing positive behaviors to try to reinforce the positive things our kids are doing because we have a lot of kids doing a lot of good things.”
Livezey emphasized during the interview that he’s not pointing fingers at anyone. However, he believes it’s going to take everyone, from parents to policymakers, to create change.
Romanosky believes the path forward is gun control. As for her family, they’re going to keep the victims and loved ones in their hearts.
“[The grandkids] are just really sad too,” Romanosky said. “They said they’re going to pray for their mamas and daddy's.”
