Pontiac incident a reminder for diligence for area schools

Friday, August 31, 2007 9:26 AM CDT

By Phyllis Coulter
pcoulter@pantagraph.com

NORMAL — Security always is on educators’ minds these days, and the case of students accused of bringing guns to Pontiac Township High School on Tuesday has made them even more aware of it, say officials at some area schools.

“It brought home the need to be diligent,” said John Pye, assistant superintendent of operations and human resources for the Normal-based Unit 5 district.

“There is heightened awareness,” said Dave Mouser, principal at Tri-Valley High School in Downs. “I feel like we take incidents like this seriously all the time. We have procedures in place.”

Unit 5’s own crisis drill last September at Normal Community West High School gave Pye and others who participated special insight as events unfolded in Pontiac.

For example, some people criticized police and school officials for spending too much time searching the Pontiac school. People who took part in the Unit 5 drill realize how long it takes to search a high school after a threat, he said.

Watching news coverage on television, he said he was surprised how close parents and other bystanders were to the doors. He said Unit 5 learned such people need to be kept at a safe distance while police do their work, he said.

Unit 5 officials learned the need for extra security cameras at the high schools and even the security value of air conditioning, which lets officials close doors that used to propped open for ventilation.

Other security measures will be high on the priority list when the district plans renovations as it prepares for a February construction bond referendum, Pye said.

Another school that saw its security procedures tested recently was Epiphany Grade School in Normal.

Last week, a stranger was noticed at the school. A teacher, following procedure, approached the man to check him out and possibly offer assistance.

The man drove away, but police were called, said Epiphany Principal Richard Morehouse.

“We’re double-checking on it,” Morehouse said.

Reporting such incidents is part of Epiphany’s recently updated security policy. It also includes limiting parking lot access and controlling entrances.

“It’s just diligence,” Morehouse said.

The changes are part of recommendations made by the school’s task force on security with input from staff, parents and police, he said.

The new security plan was on the agenda for a series of curriculum meetings that continue Tuesday and Sept. 10, he said.