At Bordentown school governor announces statewide safety plan

By: Cara Latham
   BORDENTOWN — Gov. Jon Corzine made a stop at Bordentown Regional Middle School Oct. 19 to announce plans aimed at improving safety in schools around the state.
   Gov. Corzine said the Bordentown Regional School District is an example of a district that is "doing a good job" in school safety.
   Bordentown Township Mayor Mark Roselli called it appropriate that Gov. Corzine talked about the proposed safety measures in Bordentown because "many of the initiatives you announced here we are practicing."
   The local police departments work "hand in hand" with the school district, he said.
   Bordentown Regional Schools Superintendent John Polomano said the district has been doing drills for years.
   "If your community knows why you’re doing something, and your children know why you’re doing something, they will understand that it’s practice," he said.
   With recent school shootings across the nation and one shooting near an Asbury Park middle school last week that killed an 18-year-old man, Gov. Corzine spoke in the school’s library about the School Security Task Force dubbed SAVE, Strategic Actions for Violence Elimination, that would be formed if legislators approve.
   The plan calls for collaboration between officials in the school districts, law enforcement, and community members and will require that schools around the state — including nonpublic and parochial schools — have a memorandum of agreement with their local law enforcement agencies on protocols, procedures and safety practices, Gov. Corzine said.
   "It is most important in the world that we live in today that as we recognize the violence that we have seen in schools over the last several weeks, including violence that came into the area around Asbury Park yesterday, that we could never do enough to ensure that we have taken most seriously the most important responsibility of government, and that is to protect the citizens," he said, adding that looking after children is the highest of priorities. "They are our future, and we need to do everything that we can."
   In addition, Gov. Corzine said he wanted mandated security drills to be performed in conjunction with the procedures set forth in the memorandums, similar to the mandated fire drills that take place in each school district twice a month. He also said he will allot more money in next year’s state budget for training school resource officers to work on school violence prevention, response and recovery issues.
   Gov. Corzine said he directed the state Department of Education to create a school security Web site that will open communication lines between officials and the public.
   "We need to get more information out to the students, school officials and parents," he said, adding that "the community needs to help us identify risks that they see building up," whether they are gang related or information about a child who may seem disturbed and could pose a threat to school security.
   Safety on school buses, which have been the site of some violence, he said, would also fall under the memorandum. Drivers would have to be instructed on following the protocols and procedures for safety set forth in the memorandum between the school districts and local law enforcement.
   In addition, Gov. Corzine said those school districts who have taken the responsibility will be recognized by the School Security Task Force.
   "If we don’t take this seriously, I don’t know what other priority we should have in our society," he said.
   Even though the measures would have "a major impact" on improving school security, the state could not guarantee that something bad will never occur.
   "We can be thorough and disciplined and effective, but we can never give absolute assurance," he said. "We live in a world where we can never eliminate all threats and risks."
   After his announcement, Gov. Corzine visited teacher Jack Yost’s eighth-grade U.S. History class, where he answered questions about his career and about his responsibilities as governor.