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District 57 board asks administration to study school-safety options after recent threat
Summary
Board members debated school resource officers and alternatives after a threat earlier this school year. The board asked Superintendent Dr. Gore to compile existing safety data, costs and models and return with a preliminary needs assessment and options at the March meeting.
The District 57 Board of Education discussed school safety at length and asked the superintendent to compile a preliminary needs assessment and cost analysis of possible responses, including school resource officers (SROs), alternative safety investments and community outreach.
Board President Faye opened a multi-member exchange after board member Chris said the district should “begin this very important work” with the Mount Prospect Police Department to study whether an SRO program could reduce response time and provide student-facing prevention supports.
Why it matters: Board members said physical safety is essential to students' ability to learn and to staff wellbeing. Several members said they wanted a data-driven process rather than an immediate policy change; others asked administration to include community input and cost estimates before any vote.
Discussion: Chris urged administration to “start putting together a proposal on how an SRO program might work in District 57” including structure, costs and safeguards. Several trustees, including Jen and Vicki, said they supported researching options but warned against beginning with a single remedy; they asked for a broader review that includes mental-health staffing, facility design, and non-law-enforcement approaches.
Superintendent response: Dr. Gore said he would analyze existing district data, identify information gaps, and bring a preliminary assessment and next steps to the board. He described that deliverable as “a needs assessment before the needs assessment,” and offered a formal progress report at the March board meeting.
Community input and next steps: Trustees asked administration to include qualitative input (staff, students, families), results of past security audits, and comparisons to nearby districts that have SROs. Several trustees also recommended a community survey and suggested engaging the student board members and school staff in the process.
Ending: The board did not adopt any policy or commit to a program at the meeting; the action taken was a request to administration to research models, costs and safeguards and to report back with a recommended list of options and the data needed to decide.
