Putnam Valley School Board Approves Safety Plan
The Putnam Valley Board of Education voted unanimously last week to adopt a Districtwide Safety Plan.
The plan has several aspects, including having the school board annually appoint a Districtwide Safety Team. Some of the team members will include board of education trustees, students, teachers, security and safety personnel and parent organization representatives. The team will review the Safety Plan annually and make change recommendations to the school board for potential changes.
Every July the board of education will appoint an emergency management coordinator for the district.
“Each September, the emergency management coordinator forwards an electronic copy of the updated District Safety Plan and the Emergency Management Handbook to all staff members,” the Plan stated. “These documents are to be reviewed annually by all staff members as part of the district’s emergency preparedness.”
Every September the district’s principals will appoint a building-level Safety Team, a School Crisis Response Threat Team and a Post-Incident Response Team.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frances Wills said as part of her proposed budget for 2014-15 she is seeking to hire a school resource officer for the district’s elementary school. An officer already provides security at the middle and high schools, she said.
The board of education will see plans for a “Mantrap” proposed for the elementary school during an upcoming meeting. Wills said a Mantrap is a security system that would be constructed in the vestibule of the elementary school in an effort to prevent intruders from entering classrooms.
