HoCo Superintendent Talks School Safety And Mental Health

CLARKSVILLE, MD — The Howard County Public School System hosted a forum on school safety and mental health Tuesday evening that drew hundreds of community members, including parents, staff and students. The superintendent, county executive, director of school security and school board chair as well as dozens of residents spoke at the event.

“The tragedy ... in Florida and other recent episodes of school violence throughout our nation have prompted many questions and concerns about how we can all work together to better ensure the safety of the children in our care,” Interim Superintendent Michael J. Martirano said in a statement.

"When people say: 'Things like this don't happen in Howard County, that's where we start having problems,'" Martirano said.

Making schools safer requires a multi-pronged approach, according to Martirano: enhanced physical school facility security, stronger training and processes around active shooter responses, increased access to mental health support for students and collaboration between community and schools.

Community members expressed concerns about what to do in active shooter events; bullying of students and staff; the lack of lobby guards whose sole job was to monitor each school's entrance; absence of mental health professionals from school staff; and many other issues. All of their questions will be documented, with responses from school officials, on the Howard County Public School System's website (HCPSS) in the days to come.

HCPSS receives about two threats each month, officials said. Community members said they were unsure about what happens when those are received and would like more information to ensure students are safe.

What concerns do you have about safety and mental health in schools? Tell us in the comments!

Martirano asked people who attended the forum to discuss it with others to continue the conversation. He said principals would meet with staff at each school Wednesday morning to go over issues that surfaced at the town hall.

Anyone with questions or concerns regarding safety or threats may contact safety@hcpss.org, according to HCPSS Director of Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response Thomas McNeal.

Follow Columbia Patch on Facebook to see live coverage of the event.

The forum at River Hill High School was from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27. It was held in the auditorium, which can seat up to 700 people. Organizers said the seating was first-come, first-served. Tickets were originally issued online for the event, but the school system said that was to give an idea of how many seats would be needed.

School system officials say they will provide answers to questions from citizens on the HCPSS website later in the week and encourage people to ask questions and propose solutions to help keep everyone safe in county schools.

This article will be updated.

Photo by Elizabeth Janney.