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District safety director details training, fentanyl response and new visitor-management system
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Summary
Tyler, the district's director of safety and security, told the board the department completed active-incident simulation training, conducted canine searches after a parental fentanyl tip, installed a new visitor-management system (Verkada) and secured 12 ZOLL AEDs through a Firehouse Subs grant.
Tyler, the district's director of safety and security, told the Elizabeth School District board on March 24 that the district has expanded training and equipment to strengthen school safety.
Tyler said the department completed three days of intensive training this year with Faster Colorado that included live-fire and simulation exercises and a day of building-clearing exercises at the Elizabeth Bridal School. "Those situations are very real," he said, adding the exercises helped staff practice verbal de-escalation and, when appropriate, use of lethal force.
The department also conducted canine searches at Elizabeth High School and Elizabeth Middle School after a parent reported overhearing students discuss fentanyl. "Fentanyl, as you all probably know, is extremely deadly," Tyler said, explaining the searches were a proactive response in the wake of a separate local vehicle seizure that found fentanyl.
On visitor management, Tyler said the district's prior trial with a vendor called DriftNet stalled when the vendor ceased operations. The district evaluated several systems and implemented Verkada, which Tyler described as customizable and able to provide different check-in flows for parents, contractors and substitutes.
Tyler highlighted safety equipment and training gains: a Firehouse Subs grant funded 12 new ZOLL AEDs with adult and pediatric pads placed across the district; staff completed CPR/AED and Stop-the-Bleed trainings (provided by Adventist Health); and district personnel obtained additional medical delegation so security staff can assist when health technicians are unavailable.
The district has adjusted lockdown drills to use the LifeSpot app in small-scale scenarios so staff and first responders can better coordinate room-level data (room number, counts and injuries) during an incident, Tyler said. He also described a district program called Safe2Tell, led locally by a security specialist who completed a train-the-trainer course to increase student awareness and appropriate reporting.
Board members praised the work and asked about resource impacts and follow-up communications. Tyler said many of the changes came through partnerships with Elizabeth Police, the Albert County Sheriff's Office and a local canine search nonprofit, and that the district will continue cross-training with first responders.
The district did not propose new policy changes in tonight's presentation; Tyler said the focus is on training, equipment placement and continued community partnership.
