District cites Act 57, new ID rules and Raptor as it reviews security after a threat

Ryan, the district administrator leading safety updates, told the board the district must quickly adopt changes required by a new state law—referred to in the meeting as Act 57—covering grooming policies that apply to schools and government entities. "As soon as I meet with [the policy consultant], I'll share that with the full board because we're going to have to enact those right away," Ryan said.

Ryan outlined several immediate and near-term steps taken since a recent threat prompted debriefings: principals have met with staff in multiple formats to review emergency communications; staff are now expected to wear identification while in district buildings; and the district is evaluating the Raptor visitor-management system. Ryan summarized Raptor for the board as a tool that checks IDs and can issue a sticker-style ID with a photo and visitor information.

"All of our staff members are wearing IDs now during the school day," Ryan said. "The expectation is anybody that is in the school will have some ID on them, whether it's a visitor pass or a coach ID."

Administrators also discussed other safety steps under way: updating the district emergency plan with help from staff (Sherry was singled out for her work on the plan), installing ULOCs with Dale's team over spring break and reviewing the district's contracts for technology support (CISA 5 and CISA 10) to ensure the consortium arrangements and pricing still meet district needs.

The possibility of a school resource officer (SRO) was raised as a topic for future discussion. "I've had conversations with the sheriff's office about what potential costs could be," Ryan said, adding that he was not putting a formal request forward at the meeting but thought it "worthy of a conversation" given community interest.

Board members asked clarifying questions about how IDs and visitor badges would be used, and staff described practical decisions—coaches will wear IDs when entering buildings but not while coaching practice, visitor stickers remain an option, and door security practices have improved. No formal action or vote on SROs or the Raptor system occurred at the meeting; administrators said they will return with more detail and possible action items.

Next steps recorded in the meeting packet: finalize policy-language changes tied to Act 57 through the board policy committee, bring cost estimates and contract options for visitor-management and technology services to the board, and present any formal SRO proposals or vendor quotes for consideration.