District 13 takes a hard second look at campus safety

It has been weeks since an alleged lone gunmen walked into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, shooting and killing 19 children and two adults. Since then, the tragedy’s aftershocks — felt nationwide — has set in motion a renewed effort by many Long Island school districts and law enforcement officials to re-evaluate their own readiness against active shooter threats.

At her own Board of Education meeting last month, District 13 superintendent Judith LaRocca sought to assuage doubts about safety concerns by offering an extensive overview of what her district has done in the wake of that shooting. It’s a plan she said had at least some parallels with what the district did combating the Covid-19 pandemic when it comes to a layered approach to safety.

For example, schools have now posted security guards in all buildings. There is a visitor management system outfitted with surveillance cameras. And visitors now enter campuses through a security “buffer” known as a vestibule or “mantrap” — a small space with two sets of interlocking doors that can be remotely locked.

Those employed on campuses have been issued swipe cards that give access to specific buildings from the outside, potentially avoiding situations where doors are propped open and allowing intruders to slip in.

But this isn’t the first time the district has addressed security, LaRocca added. Schools installed classroom door knobs in 2018 that lock from the inside.

The district relies on technology to spruce up communication between school officials and police. Its four elementary schools have joined some 350 other schools across Nassau County for a “panic button” smartphone app. Installed on phones carried by teachers and other employees, the app can instantly alert county officials of an active shooter threat while sharing information with police in real-time. That information, LaRocca said, can help determine the smartest way to intervene and minimize injuries and especially death.

“We really do feel very confident in the Nassau County Police Department and their ability to assist us,” LaRocca said. That confidence was reassured in part, she said, from department-wide upgrades intended to deal with mass shootings like military-grade equipment such as tactical vests and Kevlar helmets, as well as the deployment of SWAT-trained officers in the special operations unit during shootings.

Police also have ramming and breaching tools available to help officers inside locked classrooms.

But LaRocca admits not everything is perfect. The district is tightening up perceived weak points in its campus security while conducting a more intense school safety review.

“We have been working with the principals and looking at a building safety audit,” LaRocca said. “We have been inspecting our doors and windows to ensure that we are following the protocols that we are supposed to follow.”

Wisdom Protective, the private company supplying security officers, is retraining its guards and monitors at the district’s request.

LaRocca did want to drive home the point at the June 15 meeting that the district’s “significant investments over the past several years in security” has delivered on the promise of making its four elementary schools safe places for families to send their children.

“And our schools are safe,” she said. “It’s important that we tell our children that our schools are safe, and that school is a safe place to be.”

But still, there’s always room for improvement.

“We’ve gotten some really great feedback from members of the community,” LaRocca said, “as people have suggested some enhancements to our existing safety protocols.”

Among the recommendations raised were boosting the number of surveillance cameras and security personnel on campus, and getting guards to regularly check doors and conduct perimeter searches. Others mentioned monitoring social media for warning signs of threatening or concerning behavior in posts and messages.

“I know that the police are doing that monitoring,” LaRocca said.

Some trustees believe there is some need, in light of the slow response time in Uvalde, to ensure that same thing doesn’t happen in Valley Stream schools. There also are concerns about the large-sized glass window found on classroom doors — something at least a few of them believe should be bullet-proofed, or outright removed.   

“I’m not saying I’m either for or against,” Trustee Gerardo Cavaliere said, bringing up one other possibility. “But a discussion of armed personnel needs to be part of the equation.”

Vincent Caposio, an incoming trustee, did take a position, however, advocating for on-campus, gun-carrying police.

“Having an armed resource officer on-site can be a deterrent for an attacker,” Caposio said. “But if someone does still try to attack the school, an officer can confront them and delay entry until police arrive and neutralize the threat on their own. An unarmed security guard is a false sense of security, and is essentially a door monitor.”

Some studies have found that while school resource officers help alleviate some forms of school violence, there is no clear association between the presence of an armed officer and deterrence of school shootings or gun-related incidents. 

And some experts have pointed to additional concerns about the presence of resource officers and the increased rate of suspensions, police referrals, expulsions and absenteeism — especially among Black students and students with disabilities.

There are a number of proposals on the table, but any revisions or changes will first have to be researched by the district, and then connected to any available funds. It’s a process Trustee Anthony Bonelli probably could not describe any better.

“Safety is a herculean task.”