School Safety Preparedness Taskforce Created In New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH — Even though New Hampshire is considered one of the safest states in the United States and incidents of violence at schools are exceedingly rare, Gov. Chris Sununu, R-NH, announced on Feb. 26, 2018, the formation of a new taskforce to study and coordinate school safety. Sununu – along with New Hampshire Director of Homeland Security Perry Plummer and Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut – will work with other state and local officials as well as law enforcement via the new Governor’s School Safety Preparedness Taskforce, to develop stronger safety protocols. The org will also use nearly $20 million in state funds to improve security upgrades and infrastructure.

About $16 million has already been allocated to schools around New Hampshire for critical security improvements, including reinforced windows and doors, state-of-the-art exterior door locking systems, and early detection systems, Sununu noted in a press statement.

“We urge schools to be proactive in their communications with parents regarding the safety preparedness steps they are taking,” Sununu said. “At the same time, schools are strongly encouraged to take advantage of state programs being offered including emergency management grants used to enhance communications between schools and first responders and additional resources available to assist with school preparedness exercises. We will not stop until our schools are the safest in the nation. If we can’t put our kids on the school bus and know they are safe, nothing else matters.”

In the wake of the Parkland FL shooting, which killed 14 students and three teachers and coaches, school officials and police are taking all kinds of precautions to address potential threats. The creation of the task force will be an expanded effort built upon improvements state homeland officials have been working on since 2012, Sununu noted. These efforts include access control, early detection and notification, and emergency alerting. Of the 668 schools in the state, 481 have been assessed and 52 have been re-assessed during the NH HSEM review process.

Homeland security will also be working with the NH DOE, school districts, and local police to conduct training and drills to prepare for any emergency as well as expanded training for school resource officers and mapping services for first responders. More than $100,000 has also been funded to improve emergency notification systems between schools and first responders.

The state is requesting that school districts take advantage of state resources by contacting schoolreadiness@dos.nh.gov.

According to The Educator's School Safety Network, there has been an uptick in threat incidents at schools since Parkland, so the announcement of the task force is coming at a good time. More than 500 threats or violent incidents have been reported, an average of 88.7 per school day. In all, 490 schools in 49 states have been threatened or had actual violence happen, according to the group.

Around the state, there have been a rash of incidents since Parkland. Classes were cancelled last week in Weare and Henniker due to threats that were later discovered to be unfounded. High school students in Somersworth and Epping were arrested last week for alleged threats they made that closed schools, according to press reports. Rochester officials held a lockdown drill at the middle school earlier today, officials noted on Twitter.

At about this time last year, a number of schools across New Hampshire were hit by various threats including bombing and shooting threats. In December 2015, Concord High School officials found a threat scrawled on a bathroom wall. Another threat was reported in March 2016. A few months later, the Bow High School was evacuated due to a bomb threat while Portsmouth High School also received a threat. Bomb threats were reported in Keene and Nashua. A couple of days later, more threats were reported in Manchester, Pembroke, and Portsmouth. In December 2016, Oyster River High School was placed in lockdown and classes were dismissed after a threat was found on a bathroom wall. Numerous threats during the past few years have also been reported at Pembroke Academy, including bomb threats and lockdowns. Officials have also been training in that community to be prepared.

Image via Tony Schinella, Patch staff.