ROCSD reviewing building safety
The Red Oak Community School District is currently taking steps to review its building security.
At a special meeting on March 2, members of the administration met with Daric O’Neal with Alley Poyner Macchietto and Mark Pfister with Boyd Jones, as well as Montgomery County EMA coordinator Brian Hamman, Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce, and Sheriff Joe Sampson. Superintendent Tom Messenger said the district needed to review a number of factors.
“We need to examine the types of security measures we need to make sure are set up ahead of time, review door access, and determine our procedures for kids and staff in the event of a crisis and how we communicate that out,” Messinger advised.
Hamman said the police department, sheriff’s department, fire department, and emergency management all had access to all the school buildings already.
“Our I.D. badges give us access to not only the school, but the hospital, the courthouse, and our own buildings, so our badges get us in a variety of places,” Hamman said.
O’Neal said a new I.D. system would be installed that would work seamlessly with the old system.
Messinger said in the past, the district has used active shooter response training, also known as ALICE training, to prepare district staff, and asked if any of the training had changed. Bruce advised there had not been any major updates to the training and it was the same as it was before. Inman/Washington principal Gayle Allensworth felt that active shooter training with the student body needed to be done as soon as possible.
A key step in an emergency scenario, Bruce said, was to quickly establish a point location for parents to meet at, should an active shooter scenario take place in a location such as the high school.
“We’re limited on the number of responders we have. We don’t want them to come to where the emergency situation is, we’d have them meet at a different building to pick their kids up to keep them off the site. It would be taxing for the initial set of first responders, and with social media, news will spread quickly,” Bruce said.
One of the questions raised by Messinger involved communications out to parents, and what system would be the best to share valuable information in the event of an emergency. Bruce said the district would be able to use local media, and the CodeRed system in the case of an emergency.
Hamman recommended one point for mass communication, and advised the district should review their reunification plan.
“We need to determine if something happens at one of the buildings, where everyone is going to do, and determine the process for parents and caregivers to receive their children, such as having them present their I.D.s. It’ll have to be reviewed, because it’s definitely going to be mandated, if not this year, then the next. All the parents, students, and staff will need to be informed of some of the details as well,” Hamman said.
As the district prepares for renovations at the high school, Messinger said there were going to be additional safety precautions for the kids.
“The kids won’t be allowed to drive to classes off site. We have a bus that will take them there. That’s just one of the many things we’re looking at,” Messinger said.
Another meeting to further discuss the district’s safety procedures is set for March 30.