Survey finds fear of shootings widespread in NM’s schools

Poor building design, lack of funds cited as barriers to safety

An active shooter.

Students’ mental health.

These are two of the top concerns local districts have about school safety, according to surveys by the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority. Bullying, unauthorized access and domestic disputes rounded out the top five.

The agency aimed to take a snapshot of what school security looks like in the state, asking districts to identify safety barriers and rank various security measures in order of importance.

The surveys found the most significant barrier by far for districts was funding, followed by building design and lack of equipment.

That finding comes as Attorney General Hector Balderas calls for the state to utilize more federal funding for security measures in schools. It also comes as districts are starting to apply for millions of dollars set aside for school safety by the Legislature.

According to the surveys, districts said the most important security features they wanted to implement were better staff crisis training and better access control for campuses.

As for what is happening at schools now, cameras were the most popular way schools were implementing security measures. Key card access was also fairly common.

Of 712 schools surveyed, about 64 percent were fenced in, approximately 65 percent had their exterior doors locked during school hours and about 78 percent had security cameras.

But Balderas’ letter said the state needs to do better as a whole, even citing the Public School Facilities Authority’s report.

His letter says the Office of the Attorney General has been reviewing school safety in the state and has found “patchwork” safety initiatives.

“A patchwork system is inherently filled with dangerous gaps, and it is no longer acceptable to leave our schools without a comprehensive safety plan,” he wrote.

Balderas has proposed a plan to be phased in over the next three years that would standardize safety efforts for all 89 districts, starting with inventorying schools’ procedures, mapping the schools, and checking for things like signage, lighting and landscaping.