Representatives from the Hooksett School Board and Police Commission decided meeting behind closed doors will be more efficient as they seek to air out any misunderstandings about safety issues present at Cawley Middle School. Both groups announced they will meet in a closed door session on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to address allegations that School Board Chairman Maura Ouellette made about the confiscation of drugs and weapons at the school last year.

The Police Department has denied the claims, insisting there are no records of the incidents.

Ouellette has defended her original statements, which were intended to publicly argue the necessity of a full-time school resource officer in the public schools to prevent any similar cases from happening again.

“I think we have a sense we don’t want this to go on and on and on,” said Superintendent Charles “Phil” Littlefield, who will be present at the meeting. “Certainly one would hope that if we have an intermediary meeting and we’re able to address and solve all issues, I can assure you the public will be very much aware of how we come to a resolution.”

At the time the claims were made, school resource officer Jason Defina’s full-time hours spent at Hooksett’s three public schools had been cut from 40 hours to less than eight hours per week. Police Chief Stephen Agrafiotis said he ordered the schedule change because of staffing shortages. Defina’s fulltime hours at the school have since resumed.

Police Commission Chairman David Gagnon said the intent of the meeting is to clear any misunderstandings.

“There are two different versions right now,” Gagnon said. “We need to come to some conclusion about what’s going on. It’s all about what’s best for the students. We need to figure out what’s going on.”

Agrafiotis and Littlefield decided to meet in a nonpublic setting to encourage open, honest dialogue between all parties. “I hope to resolve the issue and move forward,” Agrafiotis said.