After tragedy struck at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, Dec. 14, Moorestown Board of Education members wanted to find a way to improve security throughout the school district.
Board members gathered during a regular meeting Tuesday night and announced the possibility to improve school security. Members recently met with the police department in order to discuss various improvements that can be made.
“We are going to have to come up with a consistent protocol throughout all of our buildings on how we can handle situations [similar to the one in Connecticut],” Board President Don Mishler said.
He said during the meeting with the police department, the police said the school’s current response and level of readiness is high.
Mishler said the shooter, Adam Lanza, walked right through the front door and was unable to be stopped. Theories of locked doors, entry by buzzers and security cameras helping keep children safe was proven wrong, he said.
“Just like in our schools he was stopped at the door. But that didn’t keep him from getting in,” Mishler said.
Police and security personnel currently patrolling the schools and neighborhoods are a “great asset to the schools,” Mishler said. “We just might not have enough of them.”
Mishler said the police department was unable to provide suggestions at the time of the meeting. The process of finding a solution is going to take some time, he said.
He said he is expecting more of an update on security during the first regular meeting in January.
Superintendent Brian Betze recalled sitting in his office as a middle school principal on April, 20, 1999. He said after watching what occurred at Columbine High School from his office, he was fixated on the story for weeks. He tried to figure out how he could prevent a similar incident from happening at his school, he said.
According to Betze, approximately 70 school shootings occurred from the Columbine incident until now. Between practicing lockdown and evacuation drills to help “beef up” security, more needs to be done, he said.
“We changed our culture. We changed our process. We changed what we do and we continue to constantly improve those levels of security. The bigger issue is we have changed, but the problem still exists,” Betze said, adding a real change will occur when politicians step in.
Betze said he is going to think on a larger scale on ways to improve security. He said he is making this his “personal goal” for 2013.
Board members are attempting to evaluate various types of security improvements through recommendations by not only the police department, but also from staff members and teachers.
Teachers and school staff are on the “front lines” of school security, Mishler said.
“I think the schools are very safe. I think we can always improve things, and we are working to do just that,” Betze said.
Teachers presented the board with safety concerns stretching beyond “beefing up” security from talks with the police. They were concerned with the district’s use of social media and how it possible could open doors for more incidents like Sandy Hook.
South Valley Elementary School teacher B.J. Lemaire addressed issues of social media sites and safety after comments on the superintendent’s Facebook page regarding the Connecticut shooting caused anxiety for staff members, she said.
Lemaire read comments from the superintendent’s Facebook page that said “Nobody asks for IDs and signatures when we get in . . . I can sign in as Mickey Mouse and nobody would catch it,” and another that said “definitely shaken up by Friday’s events and I can totally see how it would be possible at South Valley.”
According to Lemaire, the comments were left on the Facebook wall long enough for others to read and “Like.”
“[Comments] were not removed from the wall until it was requested by our principal,” said Lemaire. “I think these comments make South Valley vulnerable to individuals seeking to do harm.”
She said Moorestown Education Association (MEA) requested the comment feature should be deactivated on the superintendent’s Facebook page. Action has yet to be taken with the request and a grievance has been filed by the MEA, she said.
Other teachers expressed their concerns with using social media outlets to share information. Some suggested using the school’s main website to avoid comments similar to the ones Lemaire read from the Facebook postings.
“Our business does not belong on social media,” she said.
