West Frankfort schools work on district-wide safety plan

By LEIGH M. CALDWELL

A moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting was observed at the start of the Frankfort Community Unit School District board’s regular meeting Monday night, and it became evident throughout the meeting that the Connecticut massacre was at the top of local board members’ and school administrators’ minds.

“Safety is a priority for us year-round,” said Board Chairman Jerry Eader. “We are looking at options to better secure our buildings, inform our staff and update our policies.”

Central Junior High Principal Charley Cass reported to the board that progress is being made on a district-wide safety plan.

“Right now we all have really, really good individual plans, but we need a plan that strings us all together,” he said.

Cass is chairing a committee to better coordinate safety plans between the schools. He said the group is working on items such as ensuring that common terminology is used at all the district’s buildings. “‘Code Blue’ should mean the same thing everywhere,” he said.

The committee’s work should be complete in early 2013, he reported. The district-wide plan will be brought to the school board for approval.

Principals at all four West Frankfort school buildings told the board they were reviewing their safety plans with teachers and staff this week.

The Crisis Intervention Team at Frankfort Community High School will meet with a school resource officer and state police representative in January to review safety plans and look for tips and other ways to secure the buildings, Principal Danny Stevens said.

Frankfort Intermediate School Principal Mark Zahm said his staff acted quickly Monday when someone tried to access the school through the wrong set of doors.

“He was there to drop off a pair of glasses to a student, but he was at the wrong door, and wearing a hood,” Zahm said. “My phone was ringing within 20 seconds. My teachers are always watching.”

Zahm said the school’s many entrances sometimes make the front door hard to find, and better signage pointing to the main office may be needed.

Special Education teacher Toni Brookhouse told the board that teachers at Frankfort Intermediate are concerned at the way they have to step out of the doors to ensure they are locked properly, and that there are windows next to the doors that can be broken out to gain access to the building. Denning Elementary Principal LeeAnn Miller said there were similar concerns at her building.

“We will do whatever we can to secure our buildings,” Eader said.

In other action, the Frankfort Community Unit School District 168 Board of Education:

• Approved its property tax levy following a public hearing in which no public comment was made. Superintendent Dr. Greg Goins said the district has one of the lowest tax rates in Southern Illinois, and he projects a lower tax rate next year.
• Approved a calendar of 2013 school board meetings. The regular meeting will continue to be at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of the month. Three meetings will be moved next year. The January meeting will be held Jan. 22 because of a conflict with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The February meeting will be held Feb. 25 because of a conflict with President’s Day. The September meeting will be held Sept. 23 to allow for a 30-day notice for the budget hearing.
• Had the first reading of a revision to board policy 8-80 regarding community relations. The additions to the policy set out a procedure for naming of school facilities for people who have made substantial, lasting contributions, and for benefactors who have provided at least 50 percent of the cost of building or renovating a school facility. Goins said the policy provides safeguards for the board, and a clear way to approve naming a facility, reject the naming of a facility, or take the name away later if conditions warrant. Eader said with a new facility (a proposed new high school) on the horizon, a new revenue source could be naming of facilities. “That’s why we came up with this,” Eader said.