District outlines school-safety work and $100,000 Act 109 digital-mapping grant

Andy Graham, coordinator of pupil services and school safety coordinator, provided the committee with an update on school safety work on Nov. 25, describing drills, committee work, and a new grant for digital mapping.

Graham said district teams (including school resource officers, administrators and custodians) toured buildings to identify security needs such as secure entrances, lighting and camera placement. The district reconstituted a safety committee and three subcommittees focused on threat assessment consistency, drills/procedures/communication, and safety-model evaluation.

The district conducted a districtwide school-safety practice on Nov. 5 that Graham said was well received and improved planning and shared communications. He also described a Nov. 21 student roundtable at Wausau West with representatives from the state attorney general's office and the Office of School Safety; he said students praised secure entrances and repeated drill practice and noted strong staff–student connections.

Graham announced the district received an Act 109 digital-mapping grant "up to $100,000" to digitally map 20 sites; the district will solicit vendors, coordinate with law enforcement and fire/rescue, and must spend the grant funds by June 2026. "They will digitally map all of our buildings and campuses, and that will look very helpful to our law enforcement," he said, describing how digital maps can speed response and planning during emergencies.

Board members asked about expanding student roundtables to other schools and the emotional impact of drills; Graham said the district is attentive to student needs and uses counselors and post-drill debriefs to reduce trauma.