Security is First Casualty of Budget Cuts

Before Columbine, school security was entirely different. Threats of this source and magnitude weren't really imaginable. And the standard operating procedure for how security forces responded was entirely different. Not only did Columbine shatter our image of what threats are possible, it changed entirely, the recommended methods of response.

Let me cut to the chase of this blog entry. Summing it all up, the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township has not implemented recommended key facets of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first responder standards, have laid off trained MSD Security Officers, and propose cutting the MSD Security Department down to one, maybe none. This irresponsible attitude toward the safety of Decatur's children while they are in school MUST be reversed.

In the High School, Superintendent Don Stinson has contracted with a private guard company whose personnel act as glorified hall monitors. They carry no weapons and they receive no DHS first responder training. Decatur Central High School is now the only High School in Marion County that does not have an armed and sworn Officer on premises for the protection of the students. I have mentioned much of this before in Decatur Central High School - Budget Cuts Target School Safety.

In his "Fiscal Restructuring Plan", Stinson proposes cutting the MSD Security budget by another $54,000 and possibly winnowing it down to one, or even zero, Officers. This is an outrage. The School District must protect the children from harm while they are in school. And they must be prepared to protect them from the worst scenarios. I doubt that the entire MSD Security budget, even before the cuts began last year, amounts to half of what Stinson pulls down every year. That entire amount needs to be restored so that we have trained professionals on our school campuses.

Let me give you a glimpse of how badly prepared our School District is to respond to a Columbine-like incident.

The response to the takeover of Columbine High School was the standard operating procedure at the time. Isolate. Contain. Negotiate. Analysis of the entire incident and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the response led to a complete nationwide overhaul of the recommended methods employed by first responders. After Columbine the recommendations for first responders became to react immediately. Get into the building as soon as possible once you are aware that there is an serious incident of violence playing out. Turn the attention of the 'active shooter' away from innocent lives and toward the armed responders. Incidents that followed Columbine - in Pearl, MS, and Jonesboro, AK - show that the sooner armed first responders can gain entry to the building, the sooner the attack on innocent lives stops.

So, training in first responder methods and standards recommended by the DHS is a MUST for our Security Officers in Decatur Schools. The contracted services of unarmed, untrained, glorified hall monitors does not meet that requirement.

How should the trained security officers respond? Well, simply put, the first thing is AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. To do that we need to have the full contingent of officers on the School District payroll and on campus. While IMPD will always be called and will always come running - being on the spot as soon as possible and being on the spot with folks who know the campus and are familiar with the buildings as soon as possible - is a MUST. Laying off our School Security Officers and reducing the department to only one person would be laughable, if this weren't such serious business.

Once on site, DHS recommends gaining entry from three different doors, simultaneously. That means you MUST have at least 3 first responders. At this point we have only two. If Stinson has his way, we will have only one. He calls it the 'Wayne Township model' - one full time officer and the remainder of the staff made up of moonlighting, off duty, IMPD officers. Only, that's not what the Wayne Township School District is doing. They have 4 full time Security Officers. We simply MUST return the Decatur Security Department to full staffing. That might cost another $50,000 - 75,000 a year. But, the priority MUST be on the safety of the students. PERIOD.

To gain entry from three different doors, simultaneously, you need at least 3 trained Security Officers with 3 master keys. Susan Adams, the highly paid Administrator whose role is to be the head custodian, has refused to provide the Security Department with a sufficient number of master keys to facilitate immediate entry as recommended by the DHS model. She refuses to provide all District Security Officers with keys in direct contradiction of DHS first responder methods. We MUST provide all of our Security Officers with master keys. Come on. It's NOT THAT HARD !

What is supposed to happen once the first contingent of IMPD Officers arrive on the scene? They, too, are trained in DHS first responder methods and standards -- but, they are not familiar with the layout of our schools. DHS recommends that all School Security Officers carry a 'SWAT box' in their police vehicles at all times. In this SWAT box are to be the floor plans for each and every school in the district. They can share these floor plans with the IMPD Officers. It is not difficult to see how very important this recommendation is. Also in the SWAT box are to be the master keys needed to gain entry to every school in the district. Not only does Susan Adams refuse to provide the master keys, she even refuses to provide the required floor plans. Oh, for the love of Pete ! What on earth is going on in this School District ? What part of "Department of Homeland Security first responder standards" is so hard to understand as important ? Why is Stinson allowing Susan Adams to refuse to hand over keys and floor plans to our first responders? Why is Stinson hell bent on gutting our District Security Department?

This petty, short sighted, crazy attitude toward the safety of Decatur's children MUST STOP. The cuts already implemented MUST be rolled back and no further cuts made. Keys MUST be provided to the District Security Officers. Floor plans MUST be provided to the District Security Officers. Stinson and his highly paid cronies like to say that the children are the priority. But, you sure cannot tell that by their actions.