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School Security Brought Into Question
By Keith Hagarty
A trespassing incident by a 29 year old, inebriated man two weeks ago at Jackson Memorial High School has some residents questioning the security measures currently in place throughout the buildings in the school district.
On May 17, David White had boarded a school bus, posing as a student and eventually entered the high school along with the 2,400 students there. While he did not make any threats or carry a weapon, White was apprehended by school security, who were alerted of his whereabouts by a student. White was later taken into police custody.
Speaking at Monday's township board of education meeting, Eve Green of Brookdale Drive, wants to know how such an incident could happen, and questioned how White got into the school in the first place.
"To my knowledge, lockdown did not occur until well into the first period," said Green. "That bus driver never called the school, never called the authorities, never called dispatch."
Shortly after the incident, Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella sent a letter home to parents alerting them of the situation and what measures were taken, as well as a review of the typical security procedures taken daily at the school, including the posting of school officials at the various entrances to the building upon the students' arrival each morning.
With staff members at each of the three front entrances and one side parking lot entrance watching who comes and goes through the doors, Green is perplexed how a grown man could so easily find his way into the school.
"I want to know what these adults were doing when that adult walked into the school and did not belong there," Green told the board. "Who's in charge? What were they doing, because they obviously weren't paying attention."
"It's only by sheer luck that nobody got hurt," said Green. "I am terrified to let my daughter go to school everyday because I know nobody has taken the security of Jackson Memorial High School seriously."
The school's current security measure for visitors includes an open door policy with a receptionist posted at the entrance who stops and questions any potential visitors. The district's administration believes the system currently in place has been working well. Green, however, doesn't believe that's the case.
"This has only worked out by sheer luck too, but sheer luck cannot protect our children," she said.
An outraged Gary Black, of Lewis Lane, agreed with Green's concerns, saying he's questioned the board about security issues since 2001. He then blasted the board and district administrators for the incident.
"You all should either resign or be fired," Black told the board. "This is unbelievable that this was allowed to happen."
In light of the recent trespassing incident, Green wants to see the high school have upgraded security protocols, as well as the installation of a buzzer-camera-intercom system to help identify and screen anyone attempting to enter the school before they are allowed in.
When securing a school, a district must delicately try to walk the tightrope between securing the safety of everyone in the building, while not trying to turn the facility into "an armed prison camp," according to Gialanella.
"Upgrading security is not something that's done overnight, and it's not something that's done inexpensively," he said.
Representatives from the federal office of Homeland Security have been reviewing the school's security measures, as they do each year for all the public schools in the nation, with the school district currently awaiting their report, said Gialanella.
"Can we take security to the next level? Yes. Are we looking to do that? Yes, but like I said, it's not done overnight, and it's not done without expense," he said. "I don't think it's fair to say that we're not taking it seriously."
The current security procedures should have addressed the problem as soon as it arose, when the assailant first boarded the bus, but unfortunately that did not occur in a timely manner, Gialanella contends.
"We have protocols in place that weren't followed, so we have to do some retraining and re-teaching people to maintain those protocols," he said.
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