New recommendations and changes in school safety policy have been consistently rolling out since the creation of a Safety Task Force, a committee of Howell K-8 School District faculty members, Howell Board of Education members and residents who have been charged with improving security in the school district.
The Safety Task Force is chaired by board member Tim O’Brien and school district Business Administrator Ron Sanasac. It was created in response to the Dec. 14 school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in which a lone gunman killed 20 pupils and six educators before taking his own life.
The board has since approved the hiring of a director of security.
At a board meeting on Feb. 20, O’Brien presented a list of recommendations that came as the best advice of the Safety Task Force.
The Arrival/Dismissal subcommittee scrutinizes school procedures during the day, including drop-off and dismissal; and the Infrastructure subcommittee discusses potential infrastructure upgrades and technological improvements.
Members of the Safety Task Force unanimously adopted the recommendations of both subcommittees before those recommendations were presented to the board.
After their presentation, the recommendations were adopted by unanimous vote and are currently being implemented.
The Arrival/Dismissal subcommittee put forth seven recommendations:
Continue with the current entry-door access protocols as outlined in Superintendent of Schools Enid Golden’s Jan. 15 letter to the community. The protocol stipulates that visitors will be required to make an appointment before visiting schools. Visitors must enter and exit through the main entrance.
Requests for identification should take place prior to entering the building using the identification template that is to be placed on the front door. If a visitor is unfamiliar with the main office, it can then be crosschecked with a student’s emergency contact information.
Parent pick-ups would follow the current process; however, the subcommittee recommends that once a parent picks up his child, the adult and child should be directed to leave the building in an expeditious manner.
Joint training with staff and Howell police to address protocols for an arrival/dismissal crisis. This should include training for bus drivers. Communication devices will be addressed through the other subcommittee.
Communication to the main office about contractors visiting the building to complete work should be communicated through emails, phone calls, etc.
All staff members must notify the main office of their arrival to a building.
Pre-planning for large-scale events should be a collaboration of teachers, secretaries, parents and administrators to handle a large influx of visitors.
The Infrastructure subcommittee introduced a number of infrastructure and technology improvements:
Maintain and upgrade intercoms to allow for adequate coverage and volume throughout the buildings. Special attention should be paid to large assembly areas where the noise level may require additional equipment.
Alarm buttons should be installed in the main office to allow for the triggering of an alarm in an emergency situation without the need to access the intercom or phone.
The elementary school entry door cameras should be upgraded to IP (Internet protocol) cameras that can be viewed on the computer desktop rather than on a TV. This will allow for remote viewing and recording.
The practice of monthly monitoring of the copper line emergency phones and FCC radios should continue. An adequate number of small family band walkie-talkies should be added to each building to allow for all teachers to have local communication.
Push-to-talk 4G devices should be added district-wide to allow for command staff to be in communication with a high level of reliability.
Door jamb strike magnets were ordered to allow for an easier lockdown.
The local first responder data base should be reviewed with law enforcement and continue to be developed and upgraded.
A district-wide risk assessment should be performed.
After the presentation, Sanasac said the cost of the recommendations would vary. Some initiatives, like the entry-door access protocol, have been adopted with no cost. Other projects will be undertaken within budget parameters, and other initiatives like architectural upgrades will require board approval and action.
Some safety recommendations were put into effect in January, some will be enacted before the current school year is over, and others will be put into place over the next few years, according to school district officials.