The regular workshop from Friday, Oct. 17th was deflating for a number of reasons. And I’m not talking about what’s going on with
the world economy, that’s a different sort of deflation, a different concern altogether…
First of all we
finally as a board were able to discuss, one month removed from last month’sregular meeting, the reasons why a special board meeting was necessary. A month removed from a meeting that went
sideways badly resulted in a situation where some board members felt that things were
fine and nothing further was needed. As
I discussed the issue of the special meeting that wasn’t, I asked my fellow
board members if they, like me, felt that it would have been productive to have
a special meeting to discuss what went wrong at the September regular meeting. One board member said he was opposed. Two others indicated that “yes” they thought
the special meeting would have been prudent.
The chairman stated at the workshop that she called the special sept. 30th
meeting, the meeting that wasn’t, out of deference to another board member who
requested it.
So when the time came to finally discuss the issues and
resolutions I had intended to bring to the Sept. 30th special
meeting, the board’s appetite for supporting these initiatives waned
significantly.
Regarding physical security-me and one other board
member felt that the issue was valid and that the issues that led to the
meeting breakdown on Sept. 16th should be addressed. Two board members and the superintendent felt
that the “meeting became emotional, and yes, it was messy, but that overall
they did not feel unsafe.” Two of my
counterparts stated that “Timing would look bad if we [the board] enhanced
security and brought out the metal detectors for board meetings now, as this
might send the wrong message to the folks who came to the meeting last
month. They might feel that we were
enhancing security because of them” The chairman of the board stated that “she
never felt threatened or in fear” I stated at the meeting that I am aware that
there were death threats made. Is there an investigation of the death threat being conducted by the Sheriff's office? Yes. Was a police report filed? Yes. Was there a weapon in the room? We don't know. Did someone rush the stage and require restraint? Yes. Were staff members scared? Yes? So at the workshop I wanted to talk security.
But when I
asked if the district owns a walk through metal detector, the superintendent refused to directly answer that question,
which I found to be odd. The funny
thing about that response is that I am aware that we do as a district have one, a portable, moveable walk through metal detector. My predecessor
on the board related a story about how the district, after 9-11, purchased a
portable unit. So why not answer the
question directly?
Regardless, I can count and the board at this time
apparently has no appetite for enhancing security to a similar level of what our
counterparts at the county commission enjoy, by a 3-2 count as best as I can tell.
We do have the resources to do this, however we are not doing this for
reasons I do not understand and I feel are not prudent. So I stated also at the workshop that I do not understand the
reasons why if we have the protective resources to screen attendees to enhance
safety, why we would not deploy such resources?
Why are we not deploying the walk through metal detector at our
schools? We could do it randomly at
locations where we have had weapons confiscated on a frequent basis? Why not use the resource we have to enhance
security with random deployments of the portable, walk through metal detector at school sites like we do with the drug dogs? Why not
utilize the resource we have?? Apparently
the answer is: It might look bad.
I know that threats
of violence should be taken seriously. I know that it is better to have something and not need it, than to need something and not have it. I was a Boy Scout, I know it is wise to always "Be Prepared" So I asked about this and initiated a discussion.
Our district’s response? No
security, no deputies at either of our workshops this week. Astonishing. I simply pray to God that
nobody comes to our meetings or workshops with the intent to do something
violent, otherwise, when the reasons for the breakdown are studied
after the fact, as they always are,
someone will ask the obvious questions about why necessary and inexpensive (we
already have the resources, and we have the personnel on staff to run the
resources) precautions were not taken.
In a very weird way, it is reminiscent of the Black Hawk Down
incident in Somalia. Military commanders
on the ground desperately wanted tanks and armor to do their mission more
safely in Africa. These requests were
denied by those who had the power to give the commanders in the field the tools
necessary to do their jobs safely, as political considerations took precedence
over prudent planning.
The Waco incident
had just occurred giving the DoD and the White House a HUGE Black Eye, and so PC filters were applied across the government. The newly installed President, Bill Clinton, through
secretary of defense Les Aspin, said the deployment of the resources (tanks)
would make America’s footprint too large, it would look bad.
Unfortunately, because of the insidious political
correctness injected into that poor decision, 18 Army personnel were lost.
Poor decision making for Political Correctness’ sake can
lead to devastating consequences. I hope
it never happens here in the Escambia County Public School District.
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