Brentwood — The Brentwood Union Free School District presented an updated district-wide safety plan during its July 17 board meeting, highlighting expanded visitor guidance, new extreme-heat procedures and additional training for school safety staff.

The district’s director of school safety, Byron McGreg, told the Board that two internal changes — expanded visitor guidance and written protocols for extreme heat days — are the main reasons the plan “exceeds NYSED expectations.” He said the district already has layered security measures in place, including secured vestibules, camera monitoring and a district safety center staffed 24 hours a day.

The plan matters because it documents practices school staff said they already use and makes them visible to families and community members, McGreg said. The Board will post the draft safety plan on the district website for 30 days for public review before taking up formal approval at a business meeting later in the fall.

McGreg described several specifics included in the draft: vestibules or “secure areas” at building entrances where visitors for scheduled appointments will be processed; staffed monitoring of building cameras and a response team that can convene to respond to a crisis; and lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place and evacuation procedures tied to different threat types. “We have lockdown procedures that are put into place. These lockdown procedures will be activated if we have a situation where we feel that there's an actual threat,” McGreg said.

The draft also codifies steps for extreme heat. McGreg said the district’s indoor response measures kick in when temperatures reach 82 degrees Fahrenheit — at that point, staff may dim lights, pull down shades, open windows, increase ventilation and provide breaks for students who need them. If temperatures reach about 88 degrees, the plan calls for moving students to cooler locations when available or, if necessary, considering early dismissal; the superintendent retains final authority to close school early, McGreg said.

Training and staffing elements include a new community-facing school safety training program (the first eight-hour pre‑assignment class had 106 people registered for the coming week) intended to expand the pool of licensed security personnel available for hire in the district; an annual eight-hour training cycle for school safety officers plus additional crisis-prevention and de-escalation modules; and a district-wide safety team that assesses vulnerabilities and recommends proactive measures.

McGreg said the district maintains a working relationship with local emergency and health agencies, including Suffolk County Police Department and Southside Hospital, and that he has pursued direct contact paths to expedite responses during emergencies. He also said the safety center is monitored “by no less than two people” at all times and that the district maintains a waiting list (about 73 people) for Spanish-language training and plans to add Creole-language sessions if needed.

Board members present praised the work but did not vote to adopt the plan at the meeting. McGreg said the Board would consider formal approval at a scheduled business meeting (he cited an expected approval at the Oct. 21 meeting), after the 30-day posting and community feedback stage.

The Board did approve a separate, walk-in resolution at the same meeting authorizing the district to study the potential establishment of a child safety zone; that motion passed during the meeting.