ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Public Schools School Board said they are happy about all the progress that’s been made in terms of implementing new safety measures.
Before the school year started back in 2022, the school board voted on 25 new safety measures. At Tuesday night’s school boarding, they were given an update on the progress of the measures.
The update also came a day after a gunman killed three students on the Michigan State Campus. It also fell on the five-year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
School Board Chairman, Eli Jamison, gave her thoughts during the meeting.
“Michigan State, along with all the others is on my heart today,” Jamison said. “We are not just in the business of catastrophic safety management. We are in systemic relationship building and long-term safety care.”
Roanoke City Schools have been able to complete most of the safety measures and have made progress on all of them. One of the new measures many school districts across the Commonwealth are trying to implement is having a school resource officer in every school.
Roanoke City Police Chief, Sam Roman, said the high schools and middle schools are good to go.
“We are so happy to have an SRO in each of our middle schools and our high schools. We were so very happy when we overcame our staffing challenges to be able to do that,” Roman said.
The elementary schools are divided up by the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Antonio Hash is trying to find three more SROs but some of his staff have been doubling up to make sure every elementary school is taken care of.
“We understand jumping from school to school don’t allow us the opportunity to create the relationships that’s needed to support our students. We need to make sure that we get one in every school, so until we get one there I’m not satisfied,” Hash said.
The 24/7 safety tip line is up and running for students. Haley Poland, the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, is alerted any day and any time the tip line is called.
So far she said students have not used the tip line egregiously.
“They have been real concerns that have come in. It is not a swatting, none of that has come in through the line. It is true concerns or issues, and they feel that they have that to reach out to and we are responsive,” Poland said.
The school board understands there is always room for improvement when it comes to school safety. They also want to make sure parents, students, and staff know that incidents can still happen.
“So I don’t want our public or anybody in the building to think that these 25 things have suddenly made us secure and free from all risk…that in this society just doesn’t exist,” Jamison said.
The goal is to do whatever means necessary to prevent and react to a situation quickly and efficiently.