CAZENOVIA - At least one armed police officer will guard the Weston school building when classes resume this week and visitors will have to sign in, a school official said Sunday.

The moves come as authorities enhance security in the wake of Friday's fatal shooting of the high school principal and the arrest of a 15-year-old student who was charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

Meanwhile, about 100 people - teachers, students, parents and others - gathered on the bleachers of the school gym Sunday to learn how the school is responding to the gunfire that killed John Klang, 49.

The crowd at the half-hour meeting was mostly subdued, but sometimes emotional. Some asked what they could have done to prevent the shooting. Others wondered if they should take students on field trips this week.

Afterward, many of those assembled broke into small groups and shared concerns with counselors. Many employees and students, joined by counselors, visited the scene of the shooting, just inside the front door.

The meeting was a "small, hopefully tolerable dose" of returning to where tragedy struck, something that needs to be done gradually, said Nancy Pierce, one of the counselors.

Pierce told the group that it's good for people to talk about the incident but also all right not to. Some people may feel empty and others numb; those and other feelings are OK, she said.

Pierce encouraged the group to use one of the best coping tools available: each other.

"Here's where the strength is," she said, "all of you sitting here."

Classes won't resume until Thursday. Klang's funeral will be in the school gym Wednesday. A funeral for 16-year-old Erik Fichtel, a Weston student who died minutes before Friday's shooting in an unrelated car crash, will be Tuesday.

Today, as accused killer Eric Hainstock makes his initial appearance in Sauk County Circuit Court, investigators will continue to interview students at the school about the shooting and counselors will remain.

Hainstock allegedly entered the school about 8 a.m. Friday carrying a shotgun and saying, "I'm here to kill somebody." After a custodian wrestled the shotgun from him, Hainstock pulled out a handgun, authorities said. Klang confronted him and was shot three times.

The most important tasks ahead, Weston Superintendent Terry Milfred said at Sunday's meeting, are to get back to normal and secure the school.

Melissa Nigh, dean of students for the small district about 70 miles northwest of Madison, will be acting principal, Milfred said.

At least one armed officer will guard the school indefinitely, Milfred said, along with volunteers at both main entrances. Visitors not affiliated with the school will have to sign in and wear name tags, he said.

Long-term security plans will be discussed at an upcoming School Board meeting, Milfred said. It's important to ensure safety while maintaining an environment appropriate for education, he said.

"We will do whatever is needed to make the students and parents feel comfortable," he said.

Wendy and Tracey Dunse, whose son Travis Birdsill, 14, attends the school, said the meeting was helpful.

But they had mixed feelings about the security measures.

"I think it might make the kids feel safer," said Tracey Dunse.

Said Wendy Dunse: "I hope they don't get too extreme. Then kids will feel like they're in jail."

During the meeting, someone quietly asked what could have been done differently.

Don Stevens, administrator of the Cooperative Educational Service Agency in Portage, which helps districts with a variety of programs, was quick to answer.

"You could not have done anything more right than what you did that day," he said.

The crowd applauded.

Two teachers asked about field trips this week. Administrators and counselors said the outings should go on because children need to get back to learning.

For many, Sunday's meeting was such a field trip, said counselor Katie Erb.

"It's the start of people trying to get together, talking about it and trying to move forward," she said.