The fatal shooting of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, has parents across the country worried after law enforcement officers waited more than an hour to neutralize the assailant.
The Jones County Board of Education and Sheriff’s office want the public to understand they do have a plan and have had one well before the most recent tragedy.
Ginger Bailey gave her observations of the recent active shooter training in her chairman’s report.
“The sheriff’s department did the most wonderful job,” she said. “The only way you can actually get better at something is to learn to do it automatically. You don’t stop, you don’t hesitate, you just go.”
Sheriff’s Office
Capt. Travis Douglas, who oversaw the active shooter training with Lt. Kenny Allen, emphasized that the event was well in the works before the Uvalde shooting.
“We’d been in contact with [Superintendent Charles] Lundy around Christmas,” he said. “Putting on the class takes a lot. We’re certified instructors, but we have to order training materials and equipment.”
Douglas said, due to most of Texas law enforcement going through training, that equipment isn’t available.
“We went to the sheriff, and he told us to get what we need,” he said. “He said he didn’t care what we had to do, to get it done.”
Douglas addressed recent social media activity spreading the idea that the school system isn’t doing anything.
“They are doing something,” he said. “There are things we do for security that you don’t even know about. It’s like a football game. You don’t invite the other team into the huddle when you’re calling your play.”
The sheriff’s office has been conducting this training for years and partners with the City of Gray, fire departments, EMS, U.S. Marshalls and others. Paramedics were brought into the most recent training so they could get the experience of reaching potentially injured students and personnel.
Douglas said he was very angry as a law enforcement officer seeing the events unfold in Texas with officers putting on hand sanitizer while children were being shot.
“We drilled into these deputies and everyone who participated with us, you go to the sounds of gunfire,” the captain said. “You don’t muster up; you don’t wait on shields. You go in and get the bad guy or die trying. If you don’t think you can go take a bad guy out who’s trying to kill students or teachers, this is not your job.
“We were tough on the guys and girls over there because it’s serious training, serious business. We showed a video of the Buffalo shooting. He kills 10 people in about 30 seconds. If you’re doing what they did in Texas, can you imagine 80 minutes if that many people were killed in 30 seconds?”
Douglas said he and Allen are both from Jones County and have a vested interest.
“Nobody is waiting here in Jones County,” he said. “We’re going.”
The captain added the sheriff’s office has a good rapport with the school system. Principals and assistant principals attended the training, put on masks and stayed inside some of the rooms to see what happens.
“We’ll continue to do anything it takes to keep our kids and teachers safe,” Douglas said.
Jones County School System
Safety Director Raymond Braziel gave a presentation from the school system’s perspective, saying safety is first and foremost.
“Safety is everyone’s responsibility,” he said. “To keep everyone safe, it takes every one of us, every day. Uvalde probably wouldn’t have been as bad if the door wasn’t propped open. It takes every one of us.”
Braziel agreed with Douglas that the entire safety plan can’t be published for the public.
“It has all of our routes,” he said. “Those things are not to be shared. I’ve changed it so they don’t even email it. It’s put on a thumb drive, and it’s brought to me in person. They go in, make changes, and bring it back.”
The director said every employee is included as it could be a custodian or nutrition worker who comes in contact with a shooter first. Safety also applies to more than an active shooter scenario.
“We have one of the biggest liabilities that runs right behind for of these schools,” Braziel said. “If a train derails, what do we do? Where do we go? How do we respond? Yes, active shooter training is important, but train derailment is also important. Bad weather like the ice storm a few years ago in Atlanta, no one was ready for shelter in place.”
Each school has a team of safety coordinators that rarely change. They know what to do and are passionate about it. Schools also have either a registered nurse or nursing assistant so there is someone trained to know what to do at each school.
Braziel said the next step at the high school is to install a keyless entry system.
“Everyone will have to be identified with some kind of name badge,” he said. “To get in, you have to have a name badge to scan in. The beautiful thing is, when officers come, every teacher, every staff member can get in. When they leave, we can deactivate their card.
“It’ll be easier that doors stay locked, and the system will keep a log of who’s going into our buildings.
Facilities Director Joe Evans added that, with the keyless system, there will be an alarm if a door is propped open. Alerts are also sent to cell phones and computers to alert school employees.
Other business
Board member Dr. Nancy Nash said she has had people tell her how great the bus lot looks.
“It does look good,” she said. “So, for everyone involved, thank you. Especially Wendy Vaughn. We appreciate her leadership of the transportation department.”
Lundy said the lot is almost finished but does need some cleanup.
Evans spoke about preparing for renovations to Dames Ferry Elementary. After evaluating four companies, he recommended JCI General Contractors.
“They’ve been in business for 33 years, and 95 percent of their business is K-12 new construction,” he said. “We can get more value for construction. They know the rules and regulations.”
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, the Board of Education collected $54,256,469 in revenue while spending $52,444,688. That added $1,811,781 to the fund balance, bring the amount of cash on hand to $23,052,860.
The board approved:
• $68,662.71 for a one-year subscription to Math 180 for Jones County High School
• $30,322.46 for Renaissance Learning for K-8 schools
• $173,491.40 for a two-year contract from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to purchase Saxon Phonics and Spelling curriculum
• $189,145.95 for workers’ compensation insurance through the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Trust
• $326,634 for general insurance through Liberty Mutual
• Nearly $1.25 million for school nutrition 100 program contracts for the 2023 fiscal year
95 • $16,517.60 for five metal 75 detectors for Jones County Pre-K and elementary schools
• $18,867.75 for Chromebooks 25 and licenses for Clifton 5 Ridge Middle School
• $1.24 million for seven 0 2023 Integrated CE buses and two 2022 Integrated CE buses
