Authorities take close look at security in Idaho schools

There’s been a lot of talk about school safety and security, but what are schools in Idaho doing to take preventive measures to protect our kids?

Last week, the Hagedorn Bill never reached the Idaho Senate. It would have required local school boards and sheriffs to partner up and draft individual school safety plans and threat assessments.

So what is an Idaho school to do? There is no uniformity on school security measured in Idaho. In fact, only two school districts in Idaho have designated an administrative position dedicated to school safety and security, one of them is at Bonneville County School District 93.

Guy Blisner has been the Health, Safety & Security Coordinator for seven years.

“It’s an interesting job. It’s a little dark at times, you spend all your time thinking about the terrible things that can happen,” said Blisner.

And throughout the past seven years: security cameras monitoring the entire building, single point access where visitors can only enter through one door, a swiper key where Principal Brian Armes can lock down the entire building and radio communication.

“If you see something or if you’re there at the site of the emergency, you got immediate communication soyou can broadcast that backto me,” said Armes.

But now, another form of security has been addressed. This week, the National Rifle Association released a proposal to havearmed police officers, security guards or staff members in every U.S. school.

“How do we in any cost-effective fashiondo that? Are you willing to have five more kids in the classroom to have an armed guard at an elementary school,” said Blisner.

According to Idaho law, “Idaho law provides for a local board the option to allow anyone they choose to carry on a school campus,” said Blisner.

At this time, “its a discussion that’s being held at our administrative level..there are not any determinations. It’s an ongoing discussion,” said Blisner.

A National Rifle Association Task Force’s Security Plan is 225-pages. Read it at http://www.nraschoolshield.com/NSS_Final_FULL.pdf.