Shelby County superintendent details school-safety measures after Collins incident

The superintendent of Shelby County Public Schools outlined a series of safety measures the district says it has put in place following a recent incident involving Collins, saying the district has School Resource Officers at every school, has completed two safety audits this year and the board approved funding for two new security vestibules.

The superintendent said the district works closely with city and county police to provide SROs and brings in the Kentucky Center of Safe Schools to perform periodic safety audits. "If you see it, report it," the superintendent said, urging students and families to report potential dangers. The superintendent also warned: "If you put our children in harm's way, create a dangerous situation, or make a threat against any of our schools, you will be held and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and to the fullest extent of our procedures and policies at Shelby County Public Schools. We will not tolerate it. We will not allow anyone to put our students in harm's way."

The nut graf: the superintendent described both short-term and planned physical-security upgrades intended to reduce risks to students and to give staff faster ways to trigger emergency responses inside buildings. Those measures, the district says, aim to supplement SRO coverage and to encourage reporting by students and staff.

District officials said two safety audits have already been completed this year by the Kentucky Center of Safe Schools and that the state school security marshal carries out random audits; the district said it implements the recommendations from those reviews. The board of education has approved funding to build two security vestibules that the district said will be installed at Simpsonville and West; the superintendent said that will result in secure vestibules across the district's schools as they complete renovations or new construction. The superintendent said the exact funding amount was not specified during the remarks.

The superintendent described an "audio enhancement" system planned for schools being renovated or built. According to the superintendent, the system provides a classroom speaker system and gives teachers a lanyard with a button that can immediately call an emergency to the front office and trigger LED hallway signs to display lockdown or emergency messages. The superintendent said that feature allows teachers to “call a lockdown from anywhere in the building at any time.”

The superintendent also emphasized reliance on students reporting threats or unsafe behavior as a key line of defense, noting research that students with a trusted adult are more likely to report concerning behavior. The superintendent encouraged families to talk with students about reporting anything they see that could be dangerous.

The superintendent closed the remarks by praising recent school events and saying the district will continue work on safety measures; no schedule for completion of the vestibules or audio enhancements was provided in the remarks.