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Columbia County School Board hears Safe Schools report as Baker Act incidents fall
Summary
The Columbia County School Board received a quarterly Safe Schools update from Safe Schools official Mr. Pafidis, who reported a decline in Baker Act referrals and completed compliance checks; the board approved the agenda, personnel items and the consent agenda.
The Columbia County School Board on Tuesday received its Safe Schools quarterly report and approved routine business, including personnel items and the consent agenda.
Mr. Pafidis, presenting the Safe Schools report, said the district completed its internal compliance checks and that the Department of Education plans to return for another review. "We go out individually and check all the different schools with what the DOE will be looking for when they come in," he said, adding that schools were "up to date" on monthly fire drills, quarterly active-shooter drills and severe-weather drills.
The report showed Baker Act referrals in schools decreased to 29 so far this year, down from 37 at the same point last year, and the district completed 78 threat assessments this school year — about 15 fewer than the prior year, Pafidis said. He credited the incident-reporting portal and school-based processes for the decline.
Pafidis also told the board that 84% of faculty and staff completed required mental-health training, clearing the district's 80% reporting threshold. "Once we achieve the 80% threshold, we sent a report. It's we've already done that. We're at 84," he said.
The presenter noted two recent incidents — a false report in Fort White and an incident at Lake City Middle School — and thanked law-enforcement partners for their response, singling out Sergeant Ball, Corporal Aguila and Corporal Ray. He also said Rebecca Fowler resigned and was replaced by Susan Sweat, formerly a teacher at Columbia High School.
After the presentation, the board moved through routine business. The agenda — amended to remove an HCA Foundation presentation from the addendum — was adopted after a motion and voice vote. The board then approved listed personnel items and the consent agenda by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript.
Board members responded to the report with praise for staff and the sheriff's office. "As you know, I work in that area and mental health is so important," the presiding officer said, noting the decline in Baker Act incidents as a positive sign. The meeting concluded with brief member remarks and adjournment.
The board did not take any additional formal action on safety initiatives during the session; follow-up steps were not specified in the transcript.
