Dan Wright gives update on safety/security issues in Van Buren schools

Former assistant high school principal Dan Wright, who was appointed Safety and Security Administrator for the Van Buren Public Schools in October, gave a lengthy update on his work to the school board at Monday’s regular meeting.
He said the SEC consultant the district hired had inspected each school and the study was finalized in October. He said he started addressing the issues in October and November.
“We’re serious about safety and security,” Wright told the board, noting many of the things he had been taught in the past about safety, no longer apply.
He said staff and students had been taught to hide under tables when an active shooter was in the building. Now, the plan is evacuating and evading. He said communications with the parents wasn’t good in the past and now he is alerting them to drills at the school so it can be discussed with their students.
He said he has been in contact with Van Buren Township Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte and he has been to some of the drills. He said Deputy Chief Monte alerted him to the recent train derailment and assured him Edgemont School was not in danger.
Wright said they are creating a team at each school and tabletop drills are being practiced. School Supt. Pete Kudlak said this practice creates neural pathways so team members don’t have to think things out, but automatically know what to do in an emergency.
He said he has been working on a place to unify students with their parents, if it can’t be at the school. He said they are practicing lockdowns for different things.
He said he has talked with Josh Meyer at Plymouth Canton Schools about reports of potential weapons in buildings. Wright said he was told Plymouth Canton had a lockdown for a potential weapon and one of the teachers left the building with her children.
He said he is working to make the original policies and procedures more user-friendly and is looking at what other districts have.
A threat assessment procedure is being formulated, where there is a quick meeting with the school’s emergency team before taking action. Is it one person that is the problem and can it be handled with discipline? That would forego a lockdown of the school. He said the emergency team is made up of an administrator, a school resource officer, and a mental health professional.
He said Craig and Medina Atchinson are buying the district an ATV so they can patrol outside the school.
“They were very generous,” he said of the purchase.
Wright reported they are working at better radio contact and all the radios are being reprogrammed. There are some new radios involved. They also are getting away from the lock/key system. He said he wants to make everyone wear their ID on a lanyard that includes their key access, that can be canceled from the main office.
He said more “boots” are needed at Edgemont and they are coming. A boot is the equipment used to secure a door from the inside.
Wright said he is pushing for a Command Center, possibly at Belleville High School, with a wall of TVs, so you can see everything going on in the district. He said board members can visit the Canton center to see how they do it.
When there is a report of something concerning the district on social media, he said they turn the information over to a female who was formerly with Homeland Security and she collects and reports all the information.
As far as evacuating the building when the fire alarm goes off, Wright said rather than automatically evacuating 1,700 students, they will first find out where the fire is and if it is just smoke.
Also, he is seeking door-prop alarms. He said there would never be a reason for an outdoor entry to be propped open.
He said his report is what he has been working on since last November. He said his idea of student safety no longer is to hide under a desk. He said he told his son, when there is danger, “Run. No matter what they say. Run until you get home.”
He said the ALICE drill being practiced allows safety for 10 minutes, which gives time for everything to be over.
Trustee Calvin Hawkins said, based on safety training for his career, he now trains his family when they go into a restaurant to find where the cement wall is and the nearest exit.
“When I was a kid, the worst thing we had was tornado drills,” said Trustee Kelly Owen. “Now we have to discuss this. It makes me ill.” She said she has a student who is a senior at Michigan State University where there was a recent shooting and it’s been very difficult.
Treasurer Simone Pinter told of her experience with such an emergency. She said a parent can contact the school if they need help with their student and their student is a threat. Wright agreed, saying there are options for help and a part of his project is monitoring behavior.
Wright said, when complete, he will present his policies and procedures to the board for approval. Supt. Kudlak said the board will review it in closed-door session because it is on safety.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board:
• Approved purchase of 575 W. Columbia Ave. from John E. Hughes for $170,000, plus any associated costs such as closing, survey, and inspection costs as presented. Supt Kudlak said the district is very limited with property around the high school and is always looking for adjoining parcels to purchase;
• Approved the employment of Michael Bates as the new leader of the JROTC program at Belleville High School as of Feb. 16, replacing Matthew Barr. Supt. Kudlak said the program is on a fast track and in July will be able to hire a second leader. He said Friday was Barr’s last day and there were lots of tears. Bates originally graduated from Airport High School in Carleton and has a bachelor’s degree from the American Military University. Supt. Kudlak said the JROTC program was Dan Wright’s idea and he worked to get it into place;
• Approved the retirement of Karen Waller from Food Service after eight years of service;
• Approved hiring Marcia Borgdorff as a paraprofessional at the Early Childhood Center as of Feb. 13 and Kelsie McClaughlin as a substitute school bus aide as of Feb. 16;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak report they finally were able to find the contracts for the Pepsi machines and met with the representative at the high school. He said there was a concern about the machines being open during the day for students. A procedure was worked out about when the pop machines would be available for use; and
• Went into closed-door session at the end of the regular meeting to consider reinstatement of Student 21-22-071 for the second semester of the 2022-23 school year. The student was expelled during the 2021-22 school year. After the closed session, the board went back into regular open session and voted to reinstate the student with conditions.