School Safety: To Plan, or Not to Plan.........

Thanks, SC. This story goes directly to the heart of what I've tried to put out there in the past with regard to school safety vis a vis legislation (SB 08-181 specifically).

While I appreciate 9News focus on active shooter drills, the reality is that's a small part of a potentially much bigger deficiency overall: lack of compliance with SB 08-181 which requires much more.

This is a start, but it's woefully short on what still needs to be done. I know the soup de jour, figuratively speaking of course, is active shooter scenarios, but the reality was, still is, and I hope always will be (on the increase for sure) active shooter as relate to mass shooting incidents are rare overall.

One can only hope that by bringing attention to the active shooter planning and training deficiencies revealed by this story, that those who take it to heart will look at the bigger picture of emergency management programs, and that they will dive into doing now what has been legislatively, by law, been required of them since 2008 when SB 08-181 was passed.

I shared this story on our own FB page immediately when it came from you. Thank you.

You're welcome, and I'm hoping when Part 2 becomes available, you'll share that, as well.

One of my takeaways from the video interview with the JeffCo rep is that he's talking about a LOT of the very same stuff we talk about on our own website. He also talks about responsibility and accountability, but never specifically mentions SB 08-181. That...that right there, is part and parcel of how one might be able to help make more people aware of the actual requirements on the books right here in the state of Colorado to engage in ongoing, robust, full-spectrum emergency management programs for schools.

He also talked about funding. I agree funding is an issue, but it needn't be as big of an issue as the interview leads one to believe it is. They touched on the issue of bringing in "experts" to help and their impacts on funding in these kinds of activity. All too often, those so-called "experts" fail the litmus test of knowledge, skills, and abilities when it comes to design, development, and implementation of emergency management programs for schools. In other words, there is an inherent financial risk, at the very least, in hiring someone to do something that could cost a lot with little to no tangible results that meet the overall needs of a school district. The fact is that emergency management is not rocket science. With the right level of motivation, education, and training, just about anyone can "lead" a group in design, development, and implementation of this kind of program.

If parents truly want their kids to be as safe as possible, and if their schools cannot afford to hire a full time emergency management specialist like the individual from JeffCo, then it is ultimately up to volunteers to make things happen. That's what our website is all about - providing resources to help in that process.

Went to the link - it was to their FB page with comments. I didn't see an actual link to the story. Did I miss it?

OK, now I get it -- it was to their poll, not to an actual story. Will read some of the comments, but am not too optimistic they will be knowledgeable as to why drills are necessary.

As I mentioned on our own FB page, I wrote a blog post awhile back about the "fear of danger and the danger of fear". I believe it's worth noting that active shooter scenarios (danger) engender fear. We know that active shooter scenarios are possible. If we do nothing to plan for their occurrence, then there is an inherent danger in not facing that fear because when they do occur (and they will....somewhere), we'd be better off if we're prepared to respond in an appropriate manner; ergo the danger of fear.

This post is neither for, nor against, arming appropriate personnel on school campuses. However, given the fact that some school districts nationwide are considering doing this, this article couldn't be more timely. There are also embedded links to other related information within this article, as well.

It behooves all of us to be more informed and, hence, educated on how best to approach this potentially controversial "solution' to a problem some are also saying is a solution in search of a problem that warrants the inherent risks that ultimately go along with it.

That's not to say, by any stretch of the imagination, that active shooter threats are non-existent. Not at all. Not even close. But, as is pointed out in the information contained in this story, threat assessment requirements of implementing such a program at any and all schools must be an integral part of the planning and implementation process of any such program beforehand -- not during, and especially not following.

5 Steps Schools Must Get Right When Arming Campus Police