Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board outlines future school security plans

Prior Lake American

Conversations about school safety and security have been taking place across the nation and the Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board had one of its own Monday night.

District staff and administration went over the district’s current policies and procedures as well as safety measures to implement in the future.

“This certainly is something we think about constantly and is a huge priority to us,” Superintendent Teri Staloch said.

The district divides school safety measures into four categories: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

“Most organizations follow these kinds of four phases,” Staloch said.

Currently, district schools currently have secured front entrances with card readers, all but one door is locked during school hours, visitors must check in and out, students and staff go through drills, hundreds of cameras are placed throughout the district and students go through multiple types of drills, among other measures.

Maintaining relationships

Another prevention aspect is maintaining relationships among students and staff at each grade level. Programs include 2nd Step, Where Everyone Belongs, PL Kindness Group, LIVE and more.

According to a 2018 student survey, 95 percent of elementary kids and 84 percent of secondary kids feel connected to at least one adult in school.

In a 2017-2018 stakeholder survey, 72.5 percent of parents said they “agree” or “strongly agree” with a statement saying their child’s building is safe and secure. In the 2016-2017 school year, that number was 89.6 percent of parents.

The drop-off might be due to the national conversation surrounding school shootings and violence, Staloch said.

In the 2017-2018 school year, 97.7 percent of elementary students and 84.6 percent of secondary students said they “agree” or “strongly agree” with a statement saying they feel safe and secure at their school. The year before that, 91.3 percent of elementary students and 92.3 percent of secondary students said the same.

“We want to ensure our staff and kids and families and communities feel that our schools are safe,” Staloch said.

Future plans

Currently, school visitors are funneled to the main office of school buildings for office sign-in and visitor passes. When a lockdown is in place, students and staff are instructed to lock the doors, turn off the lights, close the blinds, stay away from windows and doors and stay quiet.

The district is planning to implement a visitor management system in the future that would automatically track and screen visitors, build databases and print visitor badges.

Renovations to the Prior Lake High School include enhanced security at the student and staff entrances, which will go into place in fall 2020.

Instead of a complete lockdown, the district is looking at a “lockdown with options.”

“Multiple governmental agencies agree that locking down as the only option is now obsolete,” according to the safety presentation given to the board. A lockdown with options includes instructing students to run when it’s safest to run, hide when it’s safest to hide and fight if there is no other option.

Board member Mary Frantz suggested an audit of the current processes to see where areas could be improved in the schools.

“There are some ways to bypass ... and our current exit and entry strategy isn’t consistent all the time even at the same place,” Frantz said.

Other board members said an audit wasn’t necessary.

Several board members also suggested opportunities for community input and education regarding school safety and security.

School board member Ben Hanson said he hopes the procedures implemented will work years into the future.

“I don’t think this is a problem that is going away soon, unfortunately,” Hanson said.