Norfolk Public Schools details site security upgrades and staff‑recruitment steps as superintendent announces departure

NORFOLK, Neb. — Norfolk Public Schools presented progress on building‑level safety upgrades and plans to improve staff recruitment and retention at the June 9 board meeting, and Superintendent Dr. Jamie Jo Thompson said she will leave the district after 12 years, citing new employment in Rapid City.

Chuck Hughes, who leads student services and the district’s safety team, outlined five safety priorities identified in the district strategic action plan: interior classroom door locks, a secured middle‑school vestibule, access‑control card readers for exterior doors, a culture of safety with consistent procedures and trainings, and improved cybersecurity training including phishing tests.

“We felt that no school shooting has ever happened by locked and closed doors in a classroom,” Hughes said while describing the internal‑locks priority; he reported that classroom doors across the district now have switch or push‑button locks and that most buildings have two to four strategically placed access control points. The…