According to notes posted on the Barre City Schoolboard website, the board members have rebuked the man who removed a teacher’s Safe Zone placard from her classroom door (OITM, December, 2002). In a letter to David Ayers, who maintained he would remove such a placard again, Dorothy Anderson wrote that he must notify the school of any future visits and check in at the school office.
      The letter was read into the public-record minutes and was posted on the website as follows:

“Dear David:
      “On behalf of the Barre City School Board, I need to inform you that taking the sticker from a teacher’s door or taking anything else from the school is totally unacceptable and, according to Police Chief Trevor Whipple, could fall in the category of petty larceny. We are requesting you return the sticker to the school. In addition to this matter, your action has sparked a debate about the teacher’s contractual right to freedom of individual conscience, association and expression. Any objection you had to the posting of the sticker should have been processed through the chain of command beginning at the principal level. You should not have taken it upon yourself to make a determination as to whether the sticker was appropriate or not.
      “Because of these events, the board has requested me to tell you that when you wish to visit Barre City Elementary and Middle School, you need to phone ahead and schedule an appointment with one of the principals and state what business you intend to conduct when you arrive. When you arrive, you need to sign in. If you do not follow these procedures and are found in the building, we will notify the police.”
      Another board member, Martin Prevost, “wished to add that at this time it is not intended that the sticker be placed in the school and was only a return of property.”