Board hears campus security update; staff propose batons and pepper spray for response teams

The Lake Pend Oreille School District board on Dec. 10 reviewed an expanded campus security officer program that proposes arming trained staff response teams with batons and a less‑lethal aerosol to drive intruders from hallways if they breach classroom doors.

In a presentation, a campus security presenter described the district’s “move to secure/defend” approach: secure classrooms, cover glass and keep students out of sight as the primary defenses. The presenter said the program will add training so staff — and select older student volunteers with parental notification — can respond if attackers attempt to break classroom doors. “If they accomplish those two things, there’s zero casualties in active shooters in high schools and elementary schools,” the presenter said, describing the logic for strengthening classroom defenses.

The presenter suggested that, in scenarios where an intruder forces a door, teams would use batons to prevent access to handles and then deploy a less‑lethal spray (described in the presentation as CS/pepper spray) into the hallway to force the intruder to move away from classrooms. The presenter described a team approach with separate roles for striking and dispersal and framed the tactics as a strategy to buy time for law enforcement.

Trustees questioned practical and safety issues. One asked whether the spray would be dispersed through a fixed system or applied manually through door openings; the presenter said teams would strike the intruder’s hand then “immediately transition” to spraying into hallways and doors and acknowledged contamination concerns. The presenter also said the district has prepared parent permission/opt‑out forms and reported no opt‑outs returned so far.

Board discussion touched on age and role limits for student volunteers: staff said the plan currently contemplates middle‑ and high‑school volunteers only, not elementary students, and described volunteers as optional and parent‑notified. Several members said parents should be able to opt children out of the volunteer role and that student participation should be voluntary.

District presenters also described other security work: weekly door checks (2,823 exterior door checks cited for a single month), reunification routing to a nearby church parking lot and staged emergency supply kits for reunification sites.

The board did not vote on equipping teams with batons or spray at the meeting. Presenters said further steps would include logistics, funding for classroom devices, board approval for any spray‑deployment equipment and additional communication with parents and athletic directors where applicable.

The board’s next procedural step on security was not announced; staff invited trustees to ask questions and to review the materials posted on the district website.