The Orono Public School District presented and adopted a comprehensive school safety framework Monday night that organizes existing security, health and prevention practices under one model and emphasizes mental-health supports and threat assessment as primary prevention strategies.

District Superintendent Dr. Fleisher told the school board the framework “truly aligns with how we have approached safety for many years” and noted the district adapted the model from Safe and Sound Schools. The district posted the framework on its safety and security webpage the same day.

The framework maps a multilayered approach that the district described as spanning prevention, caring climate and connectedness, physical security, emergency management and crisis response, environmental and workplace safety, and leadership, law and policy. Staff said the district’s work prioritizes threat assessment and student supports so that staff can identify and interrupt predictable paths to violence.

“We start with this picture because we take serious the language, in loco parentis,” Dr. Fleisher said, adding that the district’s procedures are intended to reflect the district’s role as caretakers while balancing transparency and security. The presentation repeated that the district will not publish operational crisis-response details publicly for safety reasons.

School leaders listed partners and standards that inform their work, including the Minnesota School Safety Center (Homeland Security and Emergency Management), the I Love You Guys Foundation, national incident management practices (NIMS), FEMA, ALICE training and MSBA model policies. The district said it runs regular tabletop exercises and practice incidents with local first responders and conducts annual staff trainings on crisis response, suicide prevention and mandatory reporting.

David Slomkowski, the district’s safety consultant and leader of Meridian Safety Consulting, framed the program as a shared responsibility. “The framework isn’t this group’s responsibility. It is every single person in the community’s responsibility,” he said.

Administrators described recent and planned physical-security changes that accompany the framework: a full-time school resource officer has returned to campus; visitor-management systems, card access, panic alarms and cameras are in place and are regularly upgraded; and district buildings will receive staged door/intercom changes intended to welcome parents into controlled vestibules while keeping building entries secure.

Staff described the district’s mental-health and well-being work as central to prevention. The district said a districtwide mental-health team trains annually on a common threat-assessment practice and that student services use multi-tiered supports, connectedness and relationship-building to reduce risk. The district also highlighted staff-well-being initiatives including a staff committee and communications intended to support teachers and other employees so they can better support students.

Presenters noted the framework organizes measures that the district already uses rather than introducing wholly new programs and emphasized continual review and revision. Officials said regulatory compliance (OSHA, MDH, MDE and others) remains part of the safety work for environmental and workplace issues such as indoor-air quality, lead and water testing, hazardous-waste management and required trainings.

Board members asked how the district balances information-sharing with the community against operational confidentiality; district staff replied that many operational details (secure locations, specific layered-security configurations) must remain confidential on advice from law enforcement. Board members also praised the district’s long-term investment in safety training and community partnerships.

The district said it will continue to collaborate with local police, fire and regional partners (Orono, Wayzata, Long Lake, Maple Plain, Plymouth) and maintain the crisis manual used for drills and responses. The board opened the floor to questions and thanked the safety leadership team for the presentation.

The district did not present the manual’s operational specifics at the meeting; the board and staff said those details are intentionally withheld from public distribution to preserve security.