Parkway School District officials on Sept. 10 launched a targeted review of the district’s security department to assess roles, staffing, training and alignment with best practices for school safety.

Lisa Tomich, chief communications officer, and Mike Christian, coordinator of security and emergency management, told the board the targeted review will collect input from staff, parents and students, examine internal protocols and compare Parkway’s staffing, compensation and training to peer districts with similar student populations.

“Part of the goal is to ensure our structure, staffing, and strategies used by our security department are aligned with best practices and effectively support the safety and well‑being of our students and staff,” Tomich said, describing the evaluation’s objectives.

The evaluation will include stakeholder surveys and focus groups, an internal review of protocols and coordination with SROs and local law enforcement, and peer‑district benchmarking. Tomich and Christian said leaders had already convened more than 20 stakeholders to help identify topics for the review, which will cover physical security, emergency preparedness, communications, prevention and technology.

Why it matters: school safety structures and resources determine how the district plans for emergencies, supports relationship building between security staff and students, and attracts and retains qualified security personnel. Staff said the district’s security unit includes multiple staff members with decades of law‑enforcement and security experience and a full‑time dispatcher for consistent incident intake.

What’s next: Tomich and Christian said staff and peer data collection is underway and that board recommendations will be returned in December after analysis of surveys, focus groups and benchmarking.