School addresses parents' concerns at safety night meeting
NEW BERLIN – After receiving multiple school related threats, Unadilla Valley held a safety night meeting last Thursday; the school described their security measures and addressed parent's questions on security alternatives, such as potentially arming teachers and installing metal detectors at the school's entrances.
"Tonight is all about how we prepare for the unexpected," said Unadilla Valley Superintendent Robert Mackey to the parents and students who attended the safety meeting.
According to Mackey, the school has already made numerous security preparations.
He said the school's exterior doors remain locked throughout and after the school day, there are 85 smart cameras that can track and recognize specific types of movement, and they have a full-time resource officer hired from the New Berlin Police Department.
The school also mentioned that it has practiced active shooter drills.
According to the district office, in previous school years' active shooter drills, local law enforcement pretended to be an active shooter and fired blank rounds in the school, and volunteer students pretended to be victims in the drill complete with fake blood. During the drill the school responded as though there was an active shooter in the school with law enforcement teams responding to the scene.
"When you were kids, did you think we'd be practicing drills like this?" Mackey said following his description of the drill.
The schools part of the meeting ended by talking about an anonymous alert system that the students now have access to.
Students can provide tips, and address potential concerns through the system, and if they want to remain anonymous to the staff receiving their messages––they can.
Following the meeting, parents from the crowd asked if the school has considered installing metal detectors at the exterior doors, or if they would arm teachers in the future.
In response Mackey said, "Imagine you're a law enforcement officer entering the school after receiving a call that said there was an active shooter currently in the building. The school's corridors are filled with a haze of smoke, and you hear gunshots from down a hall.
"You move towards where you hear the shots, and see an unidentified adult shooting down another hallway. You respond by neutralizing who you see as the active shooter, and then it turns out it was an armed teacher."
He continued on to say that metal detectors would be an annual cost of approximately $300,000 to $600,000 to the school.
"We'd have to have two full time staff members the guide students in throughout the day, along with the added cost to provide power to them."
The school wasn't allowed to describe exactly what it would do in emergency situations due to the potential of their emergency plans being used against the students.
"Tonight is all about how we prepare for the unexpected," said Unadilla Valley Superintendent Robert Mackey to the parents and students who attended the safety meeting.
According to Mackey, the school has already made numerous security preparations.
He said the school's exterior doors remain locked throughout and after the school day, there are 85 smart cameras that can track and recognize specific types of movement, and they have a full-time resource officer hired from the New Berlin Police Department.
The school also mentioned that it has practiced active shooter drills.
According to the district office, in previous school years' active shooter drills, local law enforcement pretended to be an active shooter and fired blank rounds in the school, and volunteer students pretended to be victims in the drill complete with fake blood. During the drill the school responded as though there was an active shooter in the school with law enforcement teams responding to the scene.
"When you were kids, did you think we'd be practicing drills like this?" Mackey said following his description of the drill.
The schools part of the meeting ended by talking about an anonymous alert system that the students now have access to.
Students can provide tips, and address potential concerns through the system, and if they want to remain anonymous to the staff receiving their messages––they can.
Following the meeting, parents from the crowd asked if the school has considered installing metal detectors at the exterior doors, or if they would arm teachers in the future.
In response Mackey said, "Imagine you're a law enforcement officer entering the school after receiving a call that said there was an active shooter currently in the building. The school's corridors are filled with a haze of smoke, and you hear gunshots from down a hall.
"You move towards where you hear the shots, and see an unidentified adult shooting down another hallway. You respond by neutralizing who you see as the active shooter, and then it turns out it was an armed teacher."
He continued on to say that metal detectors would be an annual cost of approximately $300,000 to $600,000 to the school.
"We'd have to have two full time staff members the guide students in throughout the day, along with the added cost to provide power to them."
The school wasn't allowed to describe exactly what it would do in emergency situations due to the potential of their emergency plans being used against the students.
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