Apalachee students, teachers and parents press Barrow board for immediate safety changes and more mental‑health leave

Several students, a teacher and parents urged the Barrow County Board of Education on Jan. 7 to take immediate, visible steps to improve school safety at Apalachee High School and across the district following the Sept. 4 shooting that killed four people.

Erin Dunlap, a science teacher at Apalachee, described hiding with her class in a storage closet for half an hour on Sept. 4 and said staff have not received adequate time or flexible leave for mental‑health care. “The faculty and staff of Apalachee need help with our mental health. We are not okay,” Dunlap said. She asked the board to grant teachers five additional days of leave outside regular sick leave to use for therapy or recovery, saying the district’s current 90‑minute per‑week option must be taken during planning periods and is unusable for staff who travel for care.

Students who were in classrooms during the shooting gave firsthand accounts of fear and ongoing trauma. Isabel Trejo, a senior at Apalachee, recounted barricading classroom doors with desks and holding a recycling bin over her head. She asked the board to require classroom doors remain closed and locked, to prohibit students from opening doors, to adopt clear bag rules, and to consider AI weapons‑detection systems in middle and high schools. “How are students and teachers expected to learn and teach if we are constantly fearing for our safety?” Trejo asked.

Other speakers — including Change For Chi advocates Leila and Sasha Contreras, parent Tanya Brown, and community members Sean Schultz and William Philp — echoed calls for proactive measures rather than promises and surveys. Speakers criticized past communications about safety surveys, saying distribution was inconsistent and that the survey wording created response bias. Several speakers said they want open safety town halls, clearer, district‑wide policies on locked doors and unmonitored movement, and an accounting of what concrete upgrades (including weapon‑detection systems) are being pursued and when they will be installed.

Board members and staff did not make policy changes during the meeting. The superintendent and staff said they are continuing a safety review that includes surveys, SRO (school resource officer) feedback, and input from school governance teams; staff told the board they plan to present survey results at an upcoming work session and continue to refine recommendations. The board moved into executive session later in the meeting and took no immediate action on the specific measures requested by speakers.

Clarifying details and requests from speakers - Teacher Erin Dunlap requested five days of leave outside regular sick leave for therapy/recovery; she said the district’s option to use 90 minutes/week during planning time is not feasible for some staff who travel for care. - Students requested that classroom doors remain closed and locked at all times and that no student be assigned to open exterior doors during the school day. - Multiple speakers asked for consideration of AI weapons detectors in middle and high schools and for a clear‑bag policy; cost concerns were raised by board/staff in other agenda items but speakers said safety should be prioritized.

What the board said after public comment Superintendent and staff reiterated that the district has engaged SROs, school governance teams and the community, has administered a survey and will present results and next steps at a work session. Staff emphasized the process is ongoing and that the next step is to compile feedback and legal guidance before proposing policy changes.

No binding policy changes were adopted at this meeting; board members directed staff to continue the review process and collect input through the scheduled channels.