(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake School Board Monday evening heard an update on the district’s newly revised school safety plan. Administrator Angela Olson says not only does it address policy and procedure in the event of an armed intruder, but it’s also designed for other types of emergencies as well…
“It’s an outline for staff, for admin., for students exactly what their roles and responsibilities will be and I think it was a great chance in addition to the whole arming staff situation, it just gave us an opportunity to really update and get figured out how we’re going to handle and be prepared for all emergencies.”
Olson says the district is accepting public comment on the plan over the next week…
“It’s posted on our website under human resources, and the documents tab. It was also emailed to all of the district families today and to staff and then we’re inviting them to either fill out the google form that’s attached to it and/or send an email to the email address that’s provided on the document, or give me a call at the school or set up a face to face meeting. We’re happy to sit down and go through and answer questions and concerns that people have and we invite all stake holders in the community to fill that out and give us their input and their feedback.”
Olson says they want that input and feedback by this coming Monday, November 21st. She says the document represents months of work and meetings…
“Law enforcement, Sheriff’s Office, some DCI people that looked at it just personally for us, we reached out to the leading national researcher…Ed Monk…and he provided us some feedback. He does this training in other states where they’re armed, and so he was able to give us some really good feedback about things that we should consider. Some mental health agencies that would need to be on hand for the recovery process, emergency management, trying to blend all of our individual programs together and know what everybody’s going to do so that we can be the best and more efficient in handling that situation with all those agencies.”
The school board will meet in special session Monday, November 28th, to consider adopting the plan. Superintendent Dr. David Smith says in the meantime, firearms training of 15 staff members has been completed. He says those who will be authorized to carry will also be required to undergo mental health screenings, and will be required to re-certify on a regular basis.
On somewhat of a related note, the board also Monday evening approved a contract to make mental health services available to students. A special phone number will be made available connecting students in need of help with specially trained professionals. School officials will also be able to make referrals. It was reported two other districts in the area are already utilizing the service.
