BENTONVILLE -- The School District has worked closely with local law enforcement agencies this school year to review each building's security plan, according to Superintendent Debbie Jones.
Jones delivered a security report during the School Board's meeting Monday. She said she visited each of the district's schools with police chiefs to conduct site assessments during the first semester.
Next meetings
The Bentonville School Board is scheduled to meet twice next week. The board will hold its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday next week instead of its regular day, Monday, because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The board will meet again two days later, on Jan. 19, for a work session. Both meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. at 500 Tiger Blvd. in Bentonville.
Source: Staff report
"We not only looked at all of the interior, we examined the exterior," Jones said. "We did those tours with the school administrators. If we had areas of concern, we identified those we could correct."
Each school is required to have an up-to-date security action plan, one based on a "multi-hazard approach to emergency planning and addresses general functions that may need to be performed in an emergency," according to a memorandum from Jones.
Schools also were required to provide a date on which they would conduct a lockdown drill.
"Part of the security is not just mitigation and planning upfront, it's actually practicing action you would take in the event of a crisis," Jones said.
Each school regularly conducts emergency training with its staff members, she said. That training is provided by the Bentonville and Centerton police departments.
The district has spent $208,000 on emergency planning using SafePlans, a Florida-based firm that helps educational entities prevent, mitigate and manage emergencies.
The company does site assessments while school is in session, identifying areas that pose a safety concern. Aerial photos of each campus are created to provide crucial information -- such as the location of each exterior door -- and shared with first responders.
Site assessments still must be done for Fulbright Junior High School and West High School.
Eric White, a board member, stressed the importance of communication with the community in regard to any situation involving a security concern.
White also asked to revisit the topic once all the assessments are completed in order to evaluate any further investments that might be recommended to improve school security.
Jones said the district has committed to making information available to the public regarding an emergency situation only when the facts of that situation have been confirmed.
That may mean frustration on the part of parents and the media, but sometimes it takes a while to get the whole story, she said.
"Our first responsibility is to make sure students and staff are safe," she said.
In other business during Monday's meeting, the district's athletic director explained his plan to replace the track at Bentonville High School at a maximum cost of $265,000.
Scott Passmore said the current latex track was installed about 12 years ago. The life expectancy for a latex track is six to eight years. The latex is worn down to the asphalt in some places, Passmore said.
He explored a few options for addressing the problem. One is to spray more latex or polyurethane on the track, but contractors he's talked to don't recommend that because it's unlikely the new material will adhere well to the old, Passmore said.
Passmore said he'd like to remove the existing latex surface and install a polyurethane surface, the same as what is used at West High School. The project is scheduled to be completed this summer.
All money for the project will come from advertising proceeds raised by the athletic department through facility signage, website and application ads and other sponsorship programs, Passmore said.
"I appreciate the fact you realize we're on a limited operational budget," Travis Riggs, board president, told Passmore.
The board is expected to vote on authorizing the expenditure at its next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 17.
NW News on 01/10/2017