Sachem board opens public hearing on districtwide safety plan; 30-day comment period announced

The Sachem Central School District Board of Education opened a public hearing July 23 to receive community feedback on its districtwide safety plan, the board announced motions to open and close the hearing and district staff outlined prevention, response and recovery measures required under New York’s Project SAVE. Patrick (Pat) Daniels, identified himself as the assistant director for station security and told the board the plan “is not only a legal requirement under New York State save legislation. It is also a living strategy designed to prepare, protect and support our school community.” Daniels said the plan is organized around prevention and risk reduction, emergency response, and recovery. He listed school-level emergency response teams that report up to the superintendent and chief emergency officer, and described prevention measures including incident logs, peer mediation and mental-health referrals. He also detailed recent security purchases and upgrades, saying license-plate readers were installed at all schools, “500 cameras were either replaced or purchased” and “300 radios have been purchased and distributed.” On emergency response, Daniels summarized required drills and protocols — evacuation, lockdown, shelter-in-place, lockout, early dismissal and cancellation — and listed response scenarios that the plan addresses, including bomb threats, intrusion, hostage situations and kidnapping. He said recovery steps include building-level evaluations of emotional impact and use of the district’s Employee Assistance Program for staff. Board members moved to open the hearing (motion by Rob; second by Dennis) and later moved to close it (motion by Bridal; second by Jessica); both motions carried. The board announced the safety plan will be posted for a 30-day public comment period and the board intends to adopt the plan later in August. Why this matters: Project SAVE is the statutory framework New York districts use to document prevention, response and recovery for school-based emergencies. The safety plan sets required routines, assigns response roles and documents coordination with local law enforcement — items that shape daily operations, training and budgeting across the district. The presentation included operational specifics that could affect families and staff, including scheduled canine security sweeps, bag-checks and enhanced security-center capabilities. Daniels repeatedly emphasized the plan is “a living strategy” that the district updates based on training and audit findings. The board did not take any additional formal action on the plan at the July 23 meeting beyond opening and closing the hearing and announcing the public comment window. Community next steps: The district will publish the plan for public review and accept comments for 30 days before a planned vote to adopt the document in August. No changes to policy or practice were adopted at the hearing itself, and the board did not make any final amendments on July 23.