Outdoor venues for school events need better security policies

In the months following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Palm Beach County School District leaders focused energy and attention on how to make schools, students and staff members feel safer during school hours.

After-hours events on campuses – including football games – were an area that still needed additional scrutiny. The recent shooting outside of a football stadium prompted the district to have that conversation on a much faster timeline. I want to be clear that the changes we have made are not solely because of what happened at Palm Beach Central High School.

Our outdoor venues needed more attention with best practices for safety, security and crowd control, and the events at the high school provided a valuable context to focus our initial conversations.

The initial changes that will take effect at our high school stadiums, which started this week, include:

■ Only clear bags will be permitted entry into any high school stadium. The only exception will be diaper bags. All bags will be subject to search.

■ Loitering is prohibited outside of stadium gates or in parking lots before, during or after the game. Once spectators leave a game, they must leave the school campus.

■ All schools will move to 6 p.m. home games whenever possible for duration of football season. Anyone planning to attend games at any district high school should check with schools to verify start times.

We knew that the decision to change the football schedule would not be popular with everyone. More daylight during these events makes it easier to see the crowd, assess the crowd and empty parking lots earlier in the evening. These changes are not just specific to football; the procedures will apply to other events in our stadiums throughout the year, and changes to gymnasium procedures will be similar.

We are very aware that the changes we’re making would not have prevented what happened outside Palm Beach Central’s stadium.

Our discussions around school safety and security are constantly evolving; we know that, as we continue to review and revise our processes, more changes will be coming – all with the intent of ensuring our campuses are as secure as possible, whether it’s during the school day or after hours.

DONALD E. FENNOY,