Security changes are coming for Evanston schools

Sheila McGuire, Herald Reporter
Posted 12/19/17

School board talks about security

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Security changes are coming for Evanston schools

Posted

EVANSTON — Evanston schools have seen changes lately, especially in relation to staff professional development and the focus on collaborative educational teams. More big changes loom on the horizon; however, these looming changes will impact building layouts and accessibility as part of an emphasis on school safety and security. 

An update on the UCSD No. 1 school safety and security plan was provided by superintendent Ryan Thomas at the board of trustees meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Thomas said an architectural firm out of Rock Springs had been in to look specifically at three of the schools to determine what would be needed to improve building safety. 

The three schools examined were Uinta Meadows Elementary, Davis Middle School and Evanston High School. Thomas said these three schools were looked at first because of the number of students enrolled and the layout of those buildings. 

Evanston Middle School, being recently renovated, already has a system to control access. The layout of that facility requires visitors during the school day to go through the office and check-in before access is granted. Horizon High School has a similar layout. 

Thomas shared drawings of the current layout of the three schools and explained the proposed changes that would limit access during the school day. Doors would be unlocked before school in the morning, but once the school day has begun access would be controlled by sets of double doors and a requirement that visitors be buzzed in to get through the second set. 

Thomas said this would enable school staff to control who is able to enter the building and to require visitors to present identification before being given a visitor pass. 

Thomas said there are funds available that have been specifically designated for school security, and the district is also able to use major maintenance funds for the same purpose. There are also funds available to improve school communication systems, specifically two-way communication systems with the classrooms. 

When discussing the security features and the requirements that visitors sign in and that doors remain locked during the school day, Thomas acknowledged that it’s a huge shift. “Will it be inconvenient? Yes. Will it require that schools change some of their habits? Yes.” 

Perhaps the biggest adjustments will be required at the high school, where students currently often gather outside the building at lunch when the weather is nice. Thomas said, “I don’t blame them, but that will have to change.” 

There was also discussion about individuals leaving doors open that are supposed to be locked. Trustee Tammy Walker pointed out that the new safety features will do nothing if people try to work around them and leave doors open. 

Thomas said, “As we’ve already emphasized, we’re going to have to change patterns of behavior. We can have the best system in place to control access, but if a person walks out the door and blocks it open so they can get back in, they’ve just ruined it.” 

The current proposal is to make changes at Uinta Meadows, DMS and EHS first, during the 2018 summer break, and then tackle changes at the other schools.

Besides structural and layout changes, the other school security issue is whether staff can carry concealed firearms. The Wyoming Department of Education released a guidebook of recommendations, as well as questions that each district will need to answer before implementing any policy. 

Thomas said a committee has been formed consisting of parents, law enforcement personnel, staff members and a student, with a goal of going through the WDE guidebook and crafting recommendations for the board. 

The results of a staff survey about the concealed carry policy proposal were shared, showing about 48 percent of respondents supported adopting such a policy and the other 52 percent were either neutral or opposed. Staff were also surveyed about whether they would apply for concealed carry permission if a policy were adopted. Out of 303 responses, 79 said they would apply and another 84 said they were unsure. 

Thomas said there were 75 comments added to the survey and he was pleased with the level of thoughtful and important comments and questions by staff members. 

As he has at other board meetings, Thomas said he recognizes this is a divisive and contentious issue, on both sides. A public forum is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 30, to provide the public time to share their concerns and ask questions. 

Thomas said the current plan is to have the committee offer recommendations to the board, and hold the public forum, in January, and to have potential votes on the policy in February and March. Board chair Cassie Torres asked if that was a realistic time frame to address and answer all questions and craft a policy.

With such a potentially divisive issue, Thomas acknowledged there was no reason to rush. Board member Jami Brackin agreed.

“I’d rather have a thoughtful policy than a rushed policy,” she said. 

It was agreed the district wanted as much public input as possible and there is some room for flexibility in the timeline to allow for the creation of a thoughtful policy. 

Also on the agenda for the evening was a curriculum update from assistant superintendents Joe Ingalls and Doug Rigby. Both said the work being done in the district to provide a guaranteed and viable curriculum is going well and staff are excited about it. 

To offer further explanation, guaranteed was defined as “the same content is taught in a specific course and at a specific grade level,” and viable as “content can be taught and learned in the time available to teachers.” 

Other items on the agenda included board officer elections in which all current officers retained their positions, including Cassie Torres as chair, Jenny Welling as vice-chair, Kay Fackrell as treasurer and Jami Brackin as clerk. The board approved a middle school Spanish challenge class field trip to Laramie in March, and heard a request for a high school art appreciation field trip to New York City. 

During the board round table, trustees Brackin, Torres and Dave Bennett acknowledged the work the district is doing with professional learning communities and shared their appreciation for recent school visits. Trustee Jenny Welling addressed recent efforts to downsize the board, which failed in November, and for which Welling cast a decisive “no” vote. 

“I know that most all of you were expecting me to vote a certain way,” said Welling, “but after a couple weeks of talking to my constituents out in the community, there was a lot of hesitation. They wondered why we were trying to push that through at this point in time or if there was a hidden agenda or some power grab that was going on.” 

She continued, “I still feel that we need to reduce from nine to seven, but I feel like it wasn’t the right time and until we get enough information out there where everybody is comfortable with that, I won’t vote for it.”