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Haslett board reviews plan to share part-time director of school safety with East Lansing
Summary
Haslett Public Schools administrators introduced a three-year cooperative agreement to share a part-time Director of Safety, Security and Student Support with East Lansing Public Schools through Secure Environments Consulting, funded by Section 31a school safety dollars; board discussion focused on cost split, coverage and state requirements for standardized emergency-response terms.
Haslett Public Schools administrators on June 8 outlined a proposal to share a part-time Director of Safety, Security and Student Support with East Lansing Public Schools through Secure Environments Consulting (SEC).
The superintendent told the board the three-year arrangement would be a cooperative agreement with East Lansing, with Haslett covering about 40% of the director’s cost and East Lansing the remaining 60% based on school counts. Administration said the role would be funded entirely through Section 31a school safety dollars and that both the SEC agreement and the cooperative agreement are expected to be on the June 22 agenda for approval.
Jason Russell, SEC’s founder and president, described the model as a district-embedded strategic director supported by SEC’s statewide consulting network. “These directors are really designed to be to serve that strategic role,” Russell said, explaining the position would focus on planning, liaison work with law enforcement, drills, trainings and tabletop exercises.
Russell and the superintendent told the board the arrangement aims to meet new Michigan requirements that districts adopt standardized emergency-response terminology and maintain behavioral threat-assessment programs. Russell said the director would help bring district plans, training and exercises into compliance and search for funding and training opportunities.
Board members asked how the 60/40 split was calculated and whether workload and on-site coverage would fairly reflect Haslett’s needs. Russell said the split was based on Haslett’s five schools versus East Lansing’s eight and reiterated that SEC will support directors with consulting resources so districts receive the services associated with a full-time director. When questioned about incident response, Russell said high-priority events would be prioritized and the director would be expected to respond immediately to emergent situations in either district.
Administrators estimated Haslett’s share of the all-in cost at just under $50,000 annually; the total contract figure discussed was approximately $130,000. The board was told the districts will participate in final candidate interviews and SEC will onboard and train directors in a school-year schedule with additional summer work for planning.
The administration framed the presentation as informational; the board will consider formal approval of the SEC agreement and the cooperative agreement with East Lansing Public Schools at its June 22 meeting.
