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Cape school board: Safety is No. 1

Committee considers second police officer, constables
February 23, 2018

Security was already on the agenda when Cape Henlopen school board met Feb. 8 to discuss security measures at district schools. But no one anticipated the Florida school shooting that forced the issue to the forefront nationwide.

“It would be unbelievable to fathom something like this in our school,” said board member Alison Myers, a member of the district's safety and climate committee, which has been reviewing adding more security at Cape Henlopen's schools.

Months before a Florida teen shot up his former high school, killing 17 people, Myers said, the safety and climate committee began discussing hiring another school resource officer and several constables.

On Feb. 8, the school board invited Indian River School District Administrator of Student Services Preston Lewis to talk about the safety plan at Indian River – a district nearly twice as big as Cape, with more than 10,000 students in 16 buildings. The district employs five school resource officers and supplements their presence with a crew of 17 constables.

“We were looking for something so we could have a little more security in our buildings,” said Lewis.

While school resource officers are working state police or town police officers, constables at Indian River are retired officers – 12 from Delaware State Police, two former secret service, one from New Jersey State Police, a former Philadelphia police officer and a former out-of-state officer. All receive constable training, in addition to the training they completed as former police officers.

“This allows a person at each district building who is trained to use a weapon for that worst-case scenario that can happen,” Lewis said. “They are a great asset to building principals and administration to assist in investigations that come up.”

No school officer or constable has drawn a weapon on a student, Lewis said, but officers have confiscated weapons from students. “BB pistols are a big thing in the schools,” he said.

Cost is a major difference between a constable and school resource officer. As retired officers, constables do not need benefit packages, which lowers the price of hiring them, Lewis said. Indian River pays about $25/hour for an eight-hour day that runs 188 days a year, Lewis said.

Lewis said no single incident prompted Indian River to expand its security program. “It's another layer of security we wanted in our buildings,” he said. Constables can work during evening school activities such as parent/teacher conferences and sporting events. They can be paid extra for evening hours, or they can adjust their schedules later in the week, he said.

Myers said increased security during sporting events and evening activities is a definite plus. She said a second school resource officer and 4 to 6 constables would add a layer of security to school buildings and support the work that the district's one officer now does.

If an upcoming referendum passes, she said, officials have talked about using current expense money for security upgrades, which could include constables and a school resource officer at the high school and new middle school. “We have a general placeholder for security, but it's a very broad category,” she said.

Myers said the board is undergoing budget discussions about paying for existing programs, and officials want to make sure the money is there before creating more positions.

“You can't really put a price on the safety of our children, but unfortunately in this situation you have to. You can't hire people if we can't afford to pay their salaries,” she said.

Board member Roni Posner, a member of the safety and climate committee, said while she is not a fan of a huge, armed police force in schools, one SRO alone can't provide security in Cape schools.

“Our schools’ No. 1 priority is safety,” Posner said. “The horrific thing that happened in Florida has really hit a nerve. We need a long, thoughtful conversation about this. If our schools aren't safe, they aren't quality schools.”

Both Posner and Myers said they are confident that the district's safety plan is a solid defense in case of an emergency or worse.

“Simply having a constable won't prevent that from happening. It's more about having a safety plan in place,” Myers said.

District awarded for school safety plan

In 2014, Cape Henlopen received kudos from the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security for submitting its safety plan months ahead of schedule.

In October, the district again received recognition by the state for being 100 percent compliant with the Omnibus School Safety Act. Each principal and assistant principal was given a certificate from Robert Coupe, secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

“Cape Henlopen is far ahead of other schools,” Coupe said. “They understand what is involved.”

Coupe said Cape Henlopen has provided floor plans for first responders so they know how to move around a building, and Cape also conducts drills for students and staff. “We're here to applaud you,” he said before handing out safety certificates.

Edward Waples, supervisor of human services, said now that the safety plan has been submitted to the state, it is simply a matter of keeping it updated. “It's secure online so the people who need to see can see it,” he said.

Waples said Cape schools hold two active shooter drills a year in addition to one emergency evacuation. New building plans are submitted to the state when the district completes a new school building, he said. A state-of-the-art identification system which scans a driver's license was installed at Love Creek Elementary when the school opened in the fall. Similar systems will be installed in Cape schools as new buildings are completed, Waples said.

Delaware State Police report quick turnaround in social media threats

Threats made by the Florida shooter on social media apparently were never investigated by officials in Florida. But in Delaware reports of potential threats draw swift action.

In January, a Magnolia teen was charged and committed to juvenile detention after Delaware State Police received a report he had threatened a Wilmington private school in a social media post that showed him holding a gun. The boy, 14, was charged with possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and terroristic threatening. He was committed to Stevenson House Detention Center in default of $12,500 secured bond.

On Feb. 15, a 19-year-old student at James H. Groves Adult High School in Woodside was charged with terroristic threatening after another student overheard him say he would do harm to the school. The teen was released on $2,000 unsecured bond with the condition that he turn in any weapons and have no contact with any school.

Delaware State Police Master Cpl. Melissa Jaffe said police work closely with school administration when conducting an investigation. “As soon as the Delaware State Police is informed of a threat, they immediately begin their investigation,” she said.

Cpl. Michael Austin said state police conduct training on active shooter/violent intruder situations that include schools, shopping malls and corporate settings. He said police work closely with Delaware Department of Education and with individual schools to ensure the day-to-day physical security of the buildings and campus.

“In the school setting, prevention is paramount, with an emphasis being placed on awareness, and ensuring that there are open lines of communication between law enforcement, staff, students and the school community as a whole,” Austin said.  

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