Board reviews school safety issue

State commission’s final recommendations to governor due Nov. 30

SPRINGDALE — The School District already is doing much of what the Arkansas School Safety Commission has recommended to improve campus security, according to a district official.

Springdale can always do more, said Deputy Superintendent Jared Cleveland, during a review of the commission’s preliminary recommendations at the School Board’s meeting Tuesday.

“We can do a little better,” Cleveland said. “But right now we need to take the commission’s recommendations, evaluate those and see how they apply to our district. I believe policy-wise, that’s your role.”

The commission submitted its preliminary recommendations to Gov. Asa Hutchinson in July. Its final report is due Nov. 30. The initial recommendations state no campus should be without an armed presence when staff and children are present.

The district, which has 30 schools, pays about $1 million per year to employ 16 school resource officers from the Springdale Police Department, Cleveland said.

Kevin Ownbey, board president, suggested if the district thinks it needs more school resource officers, the financial burden shouldn’t fall solely on the district.

“I think our city owes us some consideration as well for assisting in these recommendations,” Ownbey said.

Another recommendation of the commission is that school districts conduct “school climate” surveys to help staff members identify potential issues such as bullying and harassment and other at-risk behaviors.

That also means making sure students feel safe and secure, Cleveland said.

“Do they feel good at school? Do they have an adult that knows them? Is there an adult in the building they can go to?” he said.

Debbie Creek, a board member, said analysis of incidents of school violence at the junior high and high school levels show it was school staff members — not family members — who were

the first to notice troubling behavior in students.

“So I think that gives us a little bit to look at. We need to be the ones noticing this at the upper levels,” Creek said.

Springdale has been a leader in establishing a comprehensive student services program, Cleveland said. The district hired several social workers earlier this year and now has seven. There are three school-based health centers at elementary schools and administrators hope to set up more, he said.

The commission also recommended districts have a

safety and security team to develop and implement an emergency operations plan. Springdale already is doing that, Cleveland said.

Superintendent Jim Rollins said he appreciates all the work staff members and parents have put into helping Springdale schools become safer and more welcoming, especially by developing initiatives around improved physical and mental health, or as he called it, “the wholechild approach.”