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YCJUSD board hears safety-team update; district pilots AI cameras and expands emergency readiness
Summary
The Yucaipa-Calimesa board received a detailed update on new safety measures — including site threat assessments, 44 AEDs districtwide, a Hanwha camera pilot with AI features, Raptor kiosks and BarkAlert monitoring — and next steps for training and bunkers to support 72-hour shelter-in-place response.
The Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District on Sept. 9 received a comprehensive update on campus safety measures as the newly formed safety team outlined technology pilots, updated emergency procedures and plans for expanded staff training.
Superintendent Binks introduced the team’s new structure and said the district has formalized roles for safety coordination. Lance Bradley, the district’s manager of communications and safety, described partnerships and practical fixes identified in recent site threat assessments conducted in coordination with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. "We have comprehensive reports now for each of our secondary sites, and we're going to be able to work through a lot of the low-hanging fruit," Bradley said, listing inexpensive changes such as planting choices and removing obstructive items that create security risks.
Tim Ryan, the district-based safety specialist, highlighted the district’s medical and playground-safety work. "We have 44 AEDs in our school district, strategically located throughout the district," Ryan said, describing annual training for staff and a checklist program to ensure playground equipment and surfaces are inspected daily.
Michelle Acosta, the district’s school safety officer, summarized updates to the district’s comprehensive safety plans and new emergency-response binders that will be distributed to sites in September. The binders will include standardized forms and a monthly safety checklist for site teams to walk fences, gates and play areas. "We're working on aligning our standard response protocols and procedures throughout the district," Acosta said.
The district also described a camera pilot at SECA with Hanwha equipment that includes on-camera storage and AI features such as clothing-color detection and license-plate recognition. Bradley said the district selected SECA for the pilot because of its existing infrastructure and that other campuses will be evaluated for upgrades before cameras are installed.
Administrators touted several technology and reporting tools in current use: StopIt for anonymous reporting, Raptor self-serve visitor-management kiosks in front offices, and BarkAlert for online monitoring of student communications for threats or suicidal ideation. Bradley recounted a recent case in which BarkAlert flagged a student who reported suicidal ideation while on vacation and allowed staff to intervene: "It flagged that, and it immediately gave the school administrator... an email to say, ‘hey, there's a bar code you need to review.'" The district said that early implementation of these tools has yielded few false reports and strong site-level buy-in.
Board members praised the work and asked for continued updates, with one member saying the alignment of standardized protocols across sites will improve consistency. District staff outlined upcoming training including the Great American ShakeOut drill (Oct. 16 at 10:16 a.m.) and community Emergency Response Team (CERT) exercises designed to stress-test emergency operations and newly provisioned "bunkers" intended to sustain students and staff for up to 72 hours.
The board did not take formal action on these items beyond receiving the presentation. Staff said they will return with updates on fencing projects and camera-rollouts as funding and site infrastructure allow.
