Editorial: VBPS reassigns Dan Wright to oversee safety

Belleville High School Assistant Principal Dan Wright has been reassigned to be Safety Coordinator for the whole Van Buren Public Schools district.
At Monday’s regular meeting of the VBPS Board of Education, School Supt. Pete Kudlak said Wright’s office will remain at the high school, but he will oversee the whole district to make sure there are better practices and procedures in place. Supt. Kudlak said drills will be done differently, as well as other things.
The firm the district has consulted on school safety will have a report that Kudlak said he would present to the board in November.
He said Wright’s current position will be posted and an interim assistant principal will be assigned from within the district. They will hire a teacher to replace the new interim assistant principal.
Kudlak said this position for Wright will last until at least the end of the school year.
Treasurer Simone Pinter said she thinks the district will need that safety position from here on in. She pointed out there was another school shooting that morning, referring to the one reported in St. Louis.
Although Kudlak has turned down metal detectors, the district has applied for funds for another school resource officer and hired this company to suggest the latest school safety techniques. And, appointed Wright to his new position. Hope it works.