Newtown debates future of school where 26 died

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — Newtown residents are turning their attention to the fate of an elementary school where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators last month.

At the first of two public hearings on what to do with Sandy Hook Elementary School, residents were divided about whether children should ever return to the site of the Dec. 14 tragedy.

Some of the 200 people at the meeting Sunday believe the building should be demolished, while others say the school should be renovated and the areas where the killings occurred removed.

Some schools where massacres occurred — including Columbine High School in Colorado and Virginia Tech — reopened after renovations. Others were torn down.

Sandy Hook students and staff have relocated to another school in a neighboring town.