Holmen reviews districtwide safety plan; leaders flag camera, intercom and entry upgrades

Jennifer Gimmer, the district’s director of safety and student services, reviewed the Holmen School District’s large school safety plan required under Act 143 and outlined recent drills, assessments and next steps.

Gimmer said the district performs school‑violence drills twice a year (more often than the statutory minimum) and conducts building audits in partnership with the Holmen Police Department. She identified three key infrastructure and communications needs: aging cameras with poor usability, intercoms and public‑address systems that are not reliably audible in loud spaces (workshops, gyms), and the absence of modern two‑stage vestibule entries at some locations. Gimmer confirmed that door‑fob systems and two‑stage entry upgrades are on the district’s unfunded needs list.

On prevention and mitigation, Gimmer highlighted a revamped K‑5 social‑emotional curriculum and the roll‑out of a hate‑and‑bias response team that started at the high school and will extend into the middle school. She also described reunification planning: the district has designated two reunification sites — the Omni Center in Onalaska (primary) and the Onalaska YMCA (secondary) — and has formed a tri‑district partnership for large reunification events with neighboring districts.

Gimmer said district staff would continue to update the safety plan as a working document and will pursue cost‑effective technology fixes in collaboration with the technology department.