Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District outlines safety plan updates: drills, blue-light alerts, phones and temperature mitigation
Summary
District safety officer Eric Wilson reviewed required drills, new visual alert and phone systems, expanded emergency training and a classroom temperature mitigation plan; board had no public hearing objections and praised safety work.
Eric Wilson, the district safety officer, presented the annual district-wide safety plan to the Board of Education on Aug. 19 and described legislative-driven updates, required drills and new equipment slated for buildings.
The plan requires annual review and a public posting; the district safety team includes board members, school leaders, police and fire personnel and community representatives. Wilson said the plan covers policies and procedures for responding to violence, threats, bomb or active-shooter situations, coordinated incident command, incident reporting mechanisms (including anonymous reporting) and compliance with mandated drills.
Wilson recited the drill expectations that the district will follow this year: eight evacuation drills and four lockdown drills annually, with eight of the required drills completed by Dec. 31; drills should occur at different times of day and include at least one early dismissal drill no more than 15 minutes before normal dismissal. He told the board that the district announces drills no more than seven days in advance.
New or expanded items in the plan include a classroom-temperature mitigation plan that defines temperature thresholds and relocation protocols, and a visual exterior alert system (referred to as “blue light” or “amber light”) at the high school so occupants and people outside the building are alerted to an emergency. Wilson said the district is installing voice-over-Internet phone systems districtwide that will improve internal communication and allow phones to interface with email for faster follow-up.
Wilson described other operational upgrades: replacing older camera panels, improving radio repeater systems for building-to-building radio communications, and periodic SWAT team walkthroughs of high school and middle-school facilities when school is not in session. He also said the district will increase cardiac emergency readiness by adding or replacing automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and offering CPR/AED training for administrators and safety personnel.
A board member noted that a statewide committee had considered a change to the count of lockdown drills and said the district’s position had been adjusted in committee language; the superintendent observed that the committee’s change was accepted. Board members praised Wilson’s leadership and the committee’s tabletop exercises, including a ransomware tabletop the district ran last year.
No vote was necessary at the Aug. 19 meeting; Wilson said the plan will be posted to the district website and returned for any required adoption steps within 30 days of formal adoption as required by the state.
