See something, say something: Broward County hosts a district-wide school safety town hall

BY ARIELLE KRAUS

Broward County educators, school board members, students, parents and citizens all gathered at J.P. Taravella High School on Monday, February 25 to attend a town hall regarding school safety. Individuals who attended the event were given the opportunity to question and comment on safety within the school district.

The purpose of this event was to allow Broward County citizens’ voices to be heard. Those attending the event wanted to become more aware of how the district is addressing the safety concerns from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School shooting.

“The purpose of me attending this town hall meeting is to become better informed with the recent changes to some of the policies surrounding safety,” Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) educator Kevin Peters said. “As an educator in Broward County Public Schools, I think it’s really impactful that we keep abreast of the different changes so that our instructional and different practices around the campus can be in alignment to what the district’s expectations are.”

“I’m here today to get my questions answered as far as what the school board and the superintendent are doing to make our schools safe,” father of MSD victim Max Schachter said.

Metal detectors, locks, drills, single points of entry and security procedures and protocols were all topics of discussion. All who attended had their own opinions on how the school board can ensure a safe learning environment for the students.

“I am looking for proactive laws, not reactive laws,” BCPS teacher and volunteer member of Moms Demand Action Tracy Merlin said. “I want to make sure that at this town hall tonight, they realize that [there are] things we can put into place …  to keep our classrooms safe.”

Superintendent Robert W. Runcie attended the meeting and addressed the concerns of those who spoke. He worked alongside other board members to ensure that each speaker was able to receive a response when necessary.

Superintendent Runcie spoke about the three main topics the district focused on following the tragedy at MSD: the wellness of the families and communities, improving school safety and working to cooperate with numerous investigations.

“I support Superintendent Runcie because I think that, considering the horrific circumstances, he has done a great job,” Wilton Manors Elementary School teacher and parent Gina Pineda said. “He’s in a situation where you really can’t win and I think that he’s doing all that he can, that’s humanly possible, to make our schools safe.”

Some educators who spoke at the town hall requested that the school board chooses not to arm teachers. They pleaded for board members to respond to their requests and state that teachers in this county will not be armed.

“We [the school board] do not support arming teachers or other instructional staff,” Superintendent Runcie said. “We believe that is not the answer.”

“My question to you [the school board and Superintendent Runcie] is that I can tell my special needs son that I am safe in my school because he doesn’t feel safe and he thinks that I won’t come home like his dad didn’t come home,” MSD victim Chris Hixon’s wife Debbi Hixon said.

Parents from MSD spoke about their concerns and ways to keep schools safe. Members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission attended the event to demand more answers from the district.

“I’m here today to get my questions answered as far as what the school board and the superintendent are doing to make our schools safe,” father of MSD victim Max Schachter said. “One of the things that we learned was that the murderer had 124 different incidents of disciplinary action and he was never arrested. So, I’m here to find out how we can prevent this from happening again and making sure that the people that were to blame for this and didn’t do their job are going to be held accountable.”

Although efforts are being made to secure schools, families of the victims are still trying to cope with the tremendous losses they have endured. Some attended the event and voiced their concerns.

“My question to you [the school board and Superintendent Runcie] is that I can tell my special needs son that I am safe in my school because he doesn’t feel safe and he thinks that I won’t come home like his dad didn’t come home,” MSD victim Chris Hixon’s wife Debbi Hixon said.

School safety was the priority of the meeting and was thoroughly discussed between the speakers and school board representatives. The county is working in collaboration with all communities in an attempt to ensure that schools will be better secured.

Photo by Arielle Kraus