Pre-Halloween lockdown incident triggers look by new trustees
By Eric Valentine
A new version of a school board policy on assessing and responding to violent threats will be getting an intensified look in December and could go into effect in January, the district has confirmed. Officials are encouraging parents to be a part of the review process.
In May, the district announced a proposed overhaul of its threat assessment policy which had been described publicly as out of date by Director of Student Safety Dave Stellers. At that time, Stellers introduced trustees to what he called a three-pronged approach to better respond to threats. That included reporting methods involving threat assessment teams made up of school administrators, counselors, and a resource officer, as well as debriefing protocols and an app that could be used to report threat.
Cut to: Oct. 23, when a “lockdown” was issued for the Community Campus, Silver Creek High School and Wood River High School. According to the Hailey Police Department, it was found that law enforcement had information concerning the check of someone’s welfare, and a relative of that person was in a building on that campus. The administration at the Silver Creek School made a decision to go into a “lockout,” and Hailey’s high school resource officer stayed at the Silver Creek School for the safety and security of the school’s occupants and surrounding grounds.
That was all good, but then things get fuzzy.
“It is unclear to (the Hailey Police Department) how the ‘lockout’ went to a ‘lockdown.’ Personnel from Hailey PD, the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, and Wood River Fire & Rescue initially responded to the Community Campus area, and then cleared the area shortly thereafter due to the fact that there was never a threat on or near the immediate vicinity of the Campus,” Hailey Police Department stated.
According to LockOutUSA.com, a lockdown refers to a situation in which building occupants need to remain in locked, or locked down, interior rooms, with their door barricades in place, and hidden from view. A lockdown normally occurs if a dangerous person is physically threatening the building. Not all lockdowns are in response to an active shooter threat, and some are preventative.
A lockout is less severe, and refers to a situation in which the exterior of the building is secured and all occupants that are outside are brought inside for safety. A lockout is usually in response to a potentially dangerous situation nearby in which building administrators or local law enforcement believe it is not safe to be outside the building. Normal activities can often resume within the building during this time.
Stellers was unable to be reached before press deadline Tuesday, but district spokesperson Heather Crocker confirmed the proposed policy will be reviewed in committee in December and likely by the 2020 version of the school board in January.
“They will discuss the proposed policy at the upcoming policy committee meeting on December 17. Public comment is always welcome at the Board of Trustees committee meetings,” Crocker said.