Shawnee Mission board hears annual safety and security update; district highlights wearable alert use and training

Chief Mark Schmidt and Officer Philip Laughlin presented the Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education with the district's annual safety and security program update, describing staffing, training and new technology deployed this year.

The district police team, which includes school resource officers (SROs), designated resource officers (DROs), campus security officers and a communications dispatcher, exceeded annual training requirements, logging 1,112 hours of training this year, Chief Schmidt said. “Our role is more protect the perimeters, protect our kids, and make our staff feel comfortable, because I don't think you learn if you don't feel safe,” Schmidt said.

Officer Laughlin described technology the district rolled out this spring. Syntegix wearable panic buttons issued to staff went live April 21; in the first five school weeks staff activated those alerts 327 times, prompting on-site responses from administrators, nurses, social workers and officers. The district also administers Raptor Technologies for visitor screening, monitors roughly 2,500 cameras daily, and recorded about 71,000 visitor screenings, staff said.

Schmidt and Laughlin told the board the district added a full-time elementary officer position this year so officers no longer need to be pulled from larger buildings to cover smaller schools. Officers also provided security for about 250 noninstructional events last year, including sporting events and dances. Schmidt said arrests on school property were rare this year—two incidents—with one arrest on a state warrant and another required by statute.

The district revised and consolidated its emergency operations plan over the summer, making a digital version available on district devices and phones and providing laminated classroom posters that summarize actions administrators and teachers should take in three main incident types (shelter-in-place, code red, evacuate). Schmidt said the revision focused on clarity and making the plan “findable” in an emergency.

Board members asked about student awareness of the Syntegix badges after an accidental false alert at Shawnee Mission Northwest. Dr. Stubblefield and Schmidt said students are not trained to use staff wearable badges, but staff teach students simple guidance—how many presses indicate a building-level response versus an outside response—and administrators speak over intercom to clear false alerts. Dr. Stubblefield said the district will continue drills and communications to reduce alarm-related anxiety.

Board members and district leaders praised the collaborative work between police, administration and technology staff and noted Officer Laughlin's leadership in statewide juvenile officer and SRO training efforts.