SALAMANCA — Dozens of Salamanca school officials, local law enforcement officers and community members gathered Tuesday at the high school to discuss the status of the district’s safety and security.
Following mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, district officials invited stakeholders from the greater Salamanca community to take part in a conversation forum about what safety and security measures the schools has in place and ask questions about what could be better.
“We’d like to have this as a conversation. If there are questions or concerns or something that we can address, we are happy to do so,” said Dr. Mark Beehler, deputy superintendent. “Our safety plans are living documents. The reality is they are constantly undergoing changes.”
Beehler and Robert Briedenstein, district superintendent, walked through the current status of safety and security at the campuses, starting with a safety audit the district had in done in 2017.
In conjunction with the start of the ongoing capital project, the district underwent a comprehensive review of practices and physical structure, Beehler explained. Most of those recommendations were implemented into the capital project and continue to be followed through modified plans, he said.
WHAT’S IN PLACE
Among the physical plant changes Beehler noted are an access control system with swipe cards for employees, updated camera surveillance, new phone system, panic/lockdown buttons, secure vestibule entrances at each building and upgraded wireless communications.
“We can have all of these great facilities and great devices, but unless we have plans that implement them in a sound and secure manner, they are relatively useless,” he said. “We consistently update those plans.”
Beehler said the district’s safety planning over the past several years include internal and external safety plan reviews, hiring a robust team of safety and security officers, increasing the School Resource Officer numbers to three — one for each building — and routine self audits following state guidance.
The district also runs fire drills, lockdown drills, EMS drills, bus emergency drills and evacuation drills, something Breidenstein said has evolved over the past two decades.
“We have done a reasonably good job and mindset of adopting the philosophy that everyone is responsible for safety on a daily basis,” he said. “It’s also everyone’s responsibility to help us improve safety.”
Part of that responsibility, Beehler said, is to have a unified climate and culture throughout the district. He said it’s an ongoing effort to remind people of the safety and security procedures, such as not leaving doors propped open, having a designated point of entry and not letting people you don’t know into the building.
“While we like to think the best of people, it’s good to have our security officers and SROs who know that people are great but there are a certain number out there who are not great,” he said.
Beehler also stressed the importance of a positive and supportive culture regarding mental health, adding that the district has ongoing wellness checks for students and staff. He said the district has hired several coaches, social workers, counselors, liaisons and psychologists whose main jobs it is to care for their social, emotional and mental health.
“It’s taken a little bit of time after the pandemic to build those relationships back up, and in all reality we have sometimes forgotten how to act as students and adults in our schools, so having these individuals is helpful for that as well,” he said.
Most importantly, Beehler said the district has open and positive relationships with the Salamanca police, Cattaraugus County sheriff’s office, Seneca Nation Marshalls and local emergency officials.
“We are always to get in touch with each other and share information on a regular basis, and I believe that’s probably are single greatest advantage in deterring and making sure we can provide a safe environment for our students and staff,” he said.
QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Installing metal detectors or requiring clear backpacks was one of the first suggestions made through the online chat up during the forum, but Beehler and the SROs said both would be near impossible to implement because of the logistics involved and the likelihood of people getting around them.
One of the district’s security officers suggested having armed officers stationed at the main entrances because if someone with a weapon forces their way in, the security personnel may not be able to stop them.
A city resident shared a concern from another resident about the open doors into the district during the budget vote in May, noting that anyone was able to walk in, say they’re going to vote and could have gone anywhere.
“There’s a balance here between having us look like a prison and having it be a school. In this case we swayed too far to being open,” Beehler said. “Maybe we need to examine those practices and how to do a better job of that.”
Another attendee expressed concern about students not being where they are supposed to be once in the building and the problems that could pose during an emergency. Beehler said a handful of those students are causing more of a safety problem to the point where they’ve had to be removed from school with suspensions, which is a practice that best benefits everyone’s safety.
A recommendation from the chat was to make the campuses similar to a gated community with a single point of entrance that everyone would need to check in and out of before getting inside the buildings. Beehler said that would be a question for the whole community whether they want the campus to look like a prison or a school.
“You’re still going to run into the same issues as having a metal detector,” said Jamie Deck, acting Salamanca police chief. “If you can’t enter unless you’re searched, it takes 15-20 minutes to thoroughly search one vehicle. … Anything can slip through with human error, a vehicle, a backpack you can’t see in.”
Another attendee wondered what trainings and protocols the district has in place for both staff and substitutes. SRO Steve Dombek said they hold several sessions for faculty and staff to go over everything they should know for safety and security.
“I want to make sure everybody knows, from the fire drills to lockdowns to lockouts, that there’s no doubts or questions,” he said.
A question of how parents or community members can get in contact with the district was raised. Beehler said a 24/7 hotline is now listed on the district website. When something the students are concerned about comes up, he said the staff and students have great relationships overall and students often come to teachers or administrators when something doesn’t seem right.
“When we have students who express a threat to either themselves or others, we follow a threat matrix,” Beehler said. “I believe we have done a very good job that if there is a threat that comes forward, that has been addressed within minutes.”
In attendance Tuesday were Salamanca school administrators, teachers, security personnel and SROs; officers from the Salamanca police, Cattaraugus County sheriff’s office and Seneca Nation Marshalls; and city officials and community members.