Schools get ready for the gunman
By Erika Norton
MILFORD — Schools are prime targets for gunmen intent on mass slaughter. But, as one school security official pointed out, while fire drills are mandated, active shooter drills are not.
“Fire drills are important, but when was the last time there was a fire in a school?” said Frank Squillante, director of security at the Monroe-Woodbury School District in Orange County, N.Y., and for 25 years head of emergency preparedness at Riker’s Island Correctional Facility. “I can’t even remember. But if you pick up the newspapers or watch the news, there’s a campus shooting in the United States of America. So, it’s not a matter of ‘if,’ it’s a matter of ‘when.’”
The organization Everytown for Gun Safety said 2015 saw 24 gun incidents at K-12 schools across the country, 15 resulting in injury or death. In nine incidents, a gun was fired but no one was injured. The figures do not include attempted or completed suicides.
New York and Pennsylvania are among 30 states that do not require lockdown drills, according to the Education Commission of the States, although New York requires every school to have an emergency plan in place. New Jersey, on the other hand, requires one security drill every month during school hours and at least two of the following drills annually: active shooter, evacuation (non-fire), bomb threat, and lockdown (see glossary).
“We do a bunch of drills throughout the school year — fire drills, lockdown drills, shelter-in-place,” Lordi said. “It may not always be a lockdown drill, but we do some type of drill on a monthly basis at every school.”
The district also has its own police force, with officers present on all school campuses. As far as active shooter situations, Lordi said DV has response plans for an active shooter crisis.
Schools that hold drills collaborate with local police officers, who have an opportunity to become familiar with the school buildings in their community. The scene of an unfolding crisis should not be the first time EMTs and police officers see each other, said Squillante.
Lordi said DV also does in-house training, and external training as well, with all first responders in the area, including EMTs, firefighters, and police.
Over the summer, DV hosted a communitywide active shooter training session with first responders and school staff, Lordi said. The chief of DV's police force, Mark Moglia, holds active shooter refresher courses every month for staff as well.
Kavulich said that, after a meeting with local police chiefs and school superintendents, it became clear to him that school personnel — from administrators to teachers to bus drivers — must be trained, so that they'll know what to do if their campus is attacked.
The bill would replace two of the ten annually required fire drills with lockdown drills, one at the beginning of the school year and one in March. Drills would be run in conjunction with local police officers and involve all students, teachers, administrators, bus operators, and other school personnel.
“We can’t prevent this, but if everybody is on the same page with these drills, then maybe we could save some lives, or save all lives if everyone is prepared,” Kavulich said.
He said he understands some parents and teachers are worried about the trauma lockdown drills may cause children. But he insists that preparation is essential.
“Honestly, with the right explanation, I would rather have a child have their fears alleviated or eased by a discussion with teachers, parents and administrators and everybody be prepared, than not do this and lose any more lives,” he said.
Lordi said DV's secure vestibules block visitors from getting further into the building. When a visitor presses the buzzer, their image pops up on one of the secretary’s computers, allowing the secretary to grant or deny access.
The Warwick Valley School District in Orange County and the Sparta Township School District in Sussex County, N.J., have buzzer systems as well as driver’s license scanners that conduct background checks on visitors to their buildings.
Superintendent Dan Connor of the Goshen Central School District in Orange County has spent 43 years in education. He reflected sadly on the changes he's seen, brought on by the long spate of school tragedies.
“Until some terrible, terrible events took place, schools were supposed to be places where we encouraged people to come,” Connor said. “We wanted people, parents, to come visit our schools. But now with the way things are, we’ve all gone to lockdowns.”