FARMINGTON—School shootings are all over the news. In the Davis School District much has been done to prevent such tragedies here. Assistant Superintendent John Zurbuchen gave an update on security measures at the May 16 school board workshop.

“Stats are that schools are safer places to be than others,” Zurbuchen said. “Safety goes far beyond just mitigation. The more it becomes inconvenient, the less safe schools become. Schools are very safe spaces.” 

“We’ve put bullet resistant film on 52 elementaries, five junior highs and one high school,” said Director of Facilities, Gary Payne. “An additional eight elementaries and one high school will get security film this summer. When we shot at the glass it couldn’t even get through with breaching tools.”

There are more than 6,700 cameras that are monitored 24/7 in the District Security Office, he said. “All route buses now have cameras.”

All schools have secure vestibules, Payne said. “There is a ring call-in system where visitors have to show ID.”

The goal is to relocate interior offices, he said. “This moves them to the front. Right now they’re buried inside so you can’t see what’s going on outside.”

Transparency allows others to see what is happening in the school, said Payne. “It facilitates education. Daylight helps our moods and reduces bullying. Bad people want places to hide.”

The district also has a method in place for safety drills. “We’ve gone beyond what the fire code is,” said Risk Management Director Scott Zigitch. “Students should know what to do in a lockout, evacuation or lockdown. We use the standard reunification method to reunite students with their parents. Staff might not be in the right mind to do it so we have other personnel come in. It’s not new. It’s practiced, well received and well done.”

The School Safety District Case Management Team (DCMT) reviews safe school incidents. The purpose of the team is safety, due process and liability. “DSD safe school violations incidents include assaults, controlled substances, weapons, sexual misconduct and threats,” said Brad Christensen, Director of Student and Family Resources. “We had 649 safe school violations processed and did 160 clinical interviews and 387 Family Resource Facilitator consults and provided wrap-around services.”

“There are 13 police agencies we deal with and 27 SROs (School Resource Officer),” said Security Coordinator, Blake Haycock. “We’re not just throwing them into the schools. They are part of the National Association of School Resource Officers. The majority are teachers and mentors. They don’t want kids to be afraid of them. The purpose of an SRO is to be a positive role model not a disciplinarian.“

Safety has a human element which is what we have to work at most, said Zurbuchen. “Keeping the doors locked and making sure visitors show their ID can’t be 99% of the time, it has to be 100% all of the time.”