Auburn School District outlines safety upgrades, threat assessment and vape detection after community listening sessions

Keisha, a City of Auburn Office of Equity representative, and Dr. Alan Spiciotti, superintendent of the Auburn School District, told residents at a community forum that school safety is the district’s top daily priority.

“...we heard you,” Keisha said, noting the forum was the second part of a series built from seven listening sessions. Dr. Alan Spiciotti told the audience the district’s “paramount duty on a daily basis is keeping our kids safe.”

The district said it now has three school resource officers (SROs) assigned from the Auburn Police Department, 12 unarmed campus safety officers employed by the district, and a director of safety and security who oversees threat assessment work. The district also reported that administrators at every middle and high school are trained in a threat assessment protocol adapted from the Salem‑Keizer model to help staff distinguish between different levels of potential school violence.

Spiciotti described physical security changes already completed or planned: exterior doors are kept locked by default; newer schools include safety vestibules that control visitor access; and the district intends to return a facilities retrofit bond measure to the ballot to expand controlled entry features districtwide. He said the board is still discussing timing for that measure.

The district described mental‑health supports that include drug and alcohol prevention counselors and mental‑health counselors at middle and high schools. Spiciotti said the district has expanded those supports in recent years but that need remains high.

The district also highlighted a vaping‑detection pilot funded with proceeds from a class‑action settlement with Juul and Altria. Spiciotti said the detectors “are kinda like a smoke detector, except it will send a text message ... to security staff, administration.” He added the detectors are not a perfect solution but provide a new investigative tool; the district said it does not place cameras inside bathrooms but monitors areas outside them.

Administrators emphasized communications improvements after lockdowns or security incidents: the district said it aims to notify parents within about 10 minutes when it can and now uses ParentSquare to allow families to receive text, call or email notifications in their preferred language.

Diana Musil, an administrator at Bowman Creek Elementary, was mentioned as one of the staff distributing magnets with anonymous reporting information for the district’s safe‑schools tip line; the district said tip submissions go to three district staff 24 hours a day and can be made by text, email, web or phone.

The forum included questions from residents about juvenile crime, campus security at apartment complexes near Lee Hill, and curriculum covering drugs and bullying. Spiciotti said students who bring firearms to school face a mandatory one‑year expulsion; he also described social‑emotional learning periods and anti‑bullying efforts in district schools.

The district asked community members to raise specific program concerns so staff can follow up with schools and said it will continue the community conversation series.

Ending: The presentations were part of the City of Auburn’s “Community Conversations” series. District leaders said they will continue to refine safety tools, pursue facility upgrades through a future bond, and keep parents informed through expanded communications tools.