During a School Board Workshop held on March 6, 2018, the Hernando County School Board (HCSB) spoke with Brad Spicer regarding a proposal put forth by Bill Hall, the director of Fire Safety and Security, that would implement a formal emergency response plan intended to streamline the measures taken by schools during an active emergency. The emergency response plan would be developed by an outside company, SafePlans.
It was pointed out that the main reason for bringing up this information item was because it has been put off for ‘some time’ and in light of recent events, safety in schools has only increased in priority.
Brad Spicer, the president and CEO of SafePlans, remarks that in any emergency situation at any school, the school itself and what is done is more likely to help and protect the lives of the students than any one trooper assigned to a particular campus. To clarify, this was not an attack on the work the sheriff’s department does, but if a fire were to break out and the only course of action would be to wait for the fire department- it isn’t enough. Spicer outlines that, in addition to student resource officers, there needs to be an emphasis on ‘citizen-initiated mitigation factors.’ This translates to a growth in program development and training for response- in addition to an increased focus on taking preventive measures and ensuring community-wide collaboration in emergency situations.
Spicer noted the customizability for the plans offered by SafePlans in order to ensure compliance with State requirements and laws while still being able to produce efficient results.
Some of the services offered by SafePlans places an emphasis on communication- like sending out alerts to predetermined parties and recording all correspondence therein, making sure that whatever the situation may have been has been taken care of. There are even outlines for schools detailing entrances and windows in case of emergency that can be accessed by emergency personnel.
The costs for all this was another point brought up by the HCSB, but given the nature of how comprehensive their services are, Bill Hall still advocates for their use above other companies in the country or state. If any services were to be used, a budget amount $223,000 would have to be taken out of the school district’s ‘rainy day’ fund and would go to covering two years of the program, its implementation and any necessary training- the yearly cost after that would end up totaling $11,550.
Before anything formal was carried out, it was advised that the District wait and see what any new state legislation would require. Captain Hutchinson, from Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and coordinator for Student Resource Officer Programs, recommended the Sheriff’s Office review any measures offered by Spicer and SafePlans. With the Governor signing the school safety bill into law on Friday March 9- the school board is likely to make a final decision in the near future.