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Consultant says district "ahead of the game" on school safety after four reunification drills
Summary
Wendy Davison presented a three-year strategic plan update showing completed threat and vulnerability assessments, an overhauled Emergency Operations Plan, FEMA-style incident command staffing and four district-wide family reunification drills; the board asked about Share911 and evacuation options.
Wendy Davison of Rocky Mountain Consulting told the Saddle Mountain Unified School District Governing Board on March 11 that the district has completed threat and vulnerability assessments (TVAs), revised its Emergency Operations Plan and held four family reunification drills covering pre-K through ninth grade.
"Saddle Mountain was ahead of the game," Davison said, describing 80–90 page TVAs for each site and site-specific threat-and-hazard analyses completed in 2024. She said the district adopted national-standard response protocols, trained site incident commanders under FEMA guidance and established primary and alternate incident command roles.
The presentation emphasized family reunification: Davison said the district formalized a memorandum of understanding with an off-site reunification location about 25 minutes away and has practiced the transition with parents participating in drills. "We did everyone from pre-K up through ninth grade today and asked parents to participate to help stress test the system," she said.
Board members focused questions on active-assailant response and the district's communications technology. Davison and Superintendent Dr. Winn described Share911, an emergency-communication platform the district uses that allows any staff member to trigger a lockdown, report the location of an incident and automatically notify first responders. "Share911 allows anybody on the system to call a lockdown," Davison said. "It also connects immediately to first responders if a lockdown is called."
Board members asked whether teachers and administrators could move students away from an intruder if necessary. Davison described an "options-based response" that includes evacuation when safe, shelter-in-place, and other actions depending on the incident. She also noted the district's buildings have commercial-grade, solid-core steel-frame doors as an added layer of protection.
The update framed the work as both safety-first and compliance-driven: Davison referenced HB 2074 (enacted March 2025) and ADE minimum requirements for TVAs and said Saddle Mountain had already satisfied those standards. The board did not take action on the presentation; district staff said they will provide any follow-up training requested by the board, including a potential session on emergency procedures for the board chambers.
