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Candidates back layered safety plans and vaping detectors amid concerns about student behavior
Summary
Both finalists said student safety is a high priority. Duncan described keeping crisis-response details confidential while reassuring parents; Mayfield supports vaping detectors as a deterrent but noted they create additional administrative work.
Safety and behavior were frequent subjects in both interviews. Candidates agreed preparedness and clear plans are essential and that some operational details must remain confidential to avoid compromising security.
Duncan said he would not publish crisis-response plans but would "speak in very general yet reassuring terms" so parents understand that contingencies exist but that operational specifics are protected. He emphasized visible front-lobby screening and SRO presence as practical safety measures.
Mayfield supported using vaping detectors in school bathrooms as a deterrent and a way to identify violations, while acknowledging a trade-off: detectors often generate frequent alerts that require assistant-principal time to investigate. "They are highly effective at identifying the violation. They are woefully inadequate to address the problem," Duncan observed based on his experience with disciplinary committees.
Provenance: Safety, crisis-response, and vaping detector discussions appear across both candidate sessions (Duncan: SEG 256'SEG 280; vaping discussion: SEG 2230'SEG 1840; Mayfield: SEG 4720'SEG 4742).
