A day after a gunman executed five Amish girls in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse, educators across Illinois vowed Tuesday to tighten their security and in some cases find new ways to protect schoolchildren.
From rural Colona to urban Chicago to suburban Elgin, district officials said the armed siege at the one-room Amish school reminded them that complacency can be deadly.
Despite security rules–many drafted after the Columbine High School shooting seven years ago outside Denver– school officials acknowledge that policies are not always followed.
In the busy atmosphere of a school day, doors that are supposed be secured are left unlocked. During hot summer months, doors are propped open to help cool buildings.
Students who come to school late sometimes skip the metal detector. And unidentified visitors are buzzed in.
Steve Epperson, superintendent of Roselle School District 12 in DuPage County, said that immediately after Monday’s shooting he pulled administrators and teachers aside and reminded them to keep school doors locked at all times and honor the buzzer system that keeps intruders out of the two school buildings.
Although the district policy requires doors to be locked, Epperson said that on occasion he has found them unlocked.
“We have a very good safety plan in place, but these sorts of tragic events encourage us not to get lackadaisical,” he said. “We don’t want to overreact, but we don’t want people to think that it can’t happen here.”
In Springfield District 186, one official said that even though the district has a stringent security system, there might be room for improvement. Like many schools in Illinois, visitors to District 186 schools must buzz the office to gain entry.
But Carol Votsmier, spokeswoman for the district, said secretaries who buzz in the visitors do not receive formal training on how to question them.
“That may be something we need to look into,” she said.
Much like the Columbine tragedy did, recent fatal school shootings have forced school officials to rethink security. Days before the Monday rampage at the Amish school, a teenager was shot and killed in a Colorado school by an armed intruder and a Wisconsin principal was killed by a student who brought a gun to school.
Columbine prompted officials to focus on students who bring weapons to school. Illinois created a grant program to help schools pay for security officers, metal detectors and teacher training in violence prevention.
About $32 million was awarded from 2000 to 2002. But state lawmakers eliminated the program in 2003 during lean budget times. It has not been restored.
A state law passed last year requires every district to develop a detailed emergency response plan to be updated every year. The plan must lay out how schools will deal with scenarios as diverse as earthquakes, nuclear power accidents and intruders who barge in.
The security plans are as varied as the state’s geography.
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In urban areas, for example, districts have long used security cameras, metal detectors and locker searches to keep schools safe. Many suburban districts keep school doors locked and use a buzzer system for entry.
Downstate districts, on the other hand, are less likely to lock doors or use other active security measures.
In Colona School District 190 in far southern Henry County, for example, the safety plan calls for annual Code Red drills that prompt teachers to lock classroom doors, turn out lights and direct students to line up against the wall in case an intruder enters the school.
But the school’s front door, next to the main office, is not locked during the day. Visitors must stop in the office and get an ID badge.
Supt. Tom Smyth said he believes the safety measures in place are sufficient. But he plans to meet with teachers and staff this week to remind them to pay careful attention to visitors approaching the school.
“We all need to be more aware of our surroundings, and make sure we know exactly who is entering the building,” he said. “It’s a fine line you have to walk between wanting the school to be open to the community, while still keeping students safe.”
In Elgin-based school district U-46, administrators recently hired a safety coordinator to better focus on school security issues. The district keeps school doors locked during the day and uses a buzzer and video system in every building. The employees who buzz in visitors get training annually.
But district officials have resisted calls for metal detectors.
“The overwhelming consensus among parents was they felt it would take away from the learning environment,” said Kris Houser, spokeswoman for the district.
Villa Park-based School District 45 in DuPage County has a safety plan in place, coordinates with local law enforcement, runs safety drills and keeps doors locked.
But Supt. William Schewe acknowledges that an intruder could break through a window, and he is not sure what more he can do to a school to prevent that.
“I don’t think you want to make it a fort,” he said.
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