Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - Schools all over the Tucson area were reviewing their safety procedures Monday following Friday's deadly shooting in Connecticut.

Cara Rene, spokeswoman for TUSD said the district took a "renewed look at what we already have in place because there are no threats in Tucson right now that we heard from TPD or any law enforcement, and there are obviously no threats against the district."

She said district policy mandates that all visitors check in at the front desk. Rene said district personnel would be evaluating safety and security measures for at least another week, "reviewing emergency planning protocols, looking at evacuation plans and all functioning protocols to ensure that everybody is up to speed and on the same page." Rene said school staff are remaining vigilant and proactive in providing information to parents and students.

Dr. Nic Clement at the Flowing Wells School District said his staff identified one school in need that needed review. "After school starts visitors will have to come through an office area to get their visitors pass. It's just a buffer so that you don't have direct access to the hallway," Dr. Clement said.

He said visitors to any of the district's ten schools must sign-in at the front desk. The district has also begun assessing the possibility of security cameras as a result of the mass shooting in Connecticut. "We needed to look at all of our procedures, protocols, making sure that we're doing everything we can to make sure kids have a safe learning environment," Dr. Clement said.

There were not reports of a significant number of student absences in either school district. "There's no such thing as a 100 percent safe plan," Dr. Clement said. "We'd love to have that but we know that we've got to get close to that."

Natalie Luna Rose, a spokeswoman for the Vail Unified School District, released the following statement:

"Schools have an increased visibility of adults on on campus and ALL staff are out on school grounds, before and after school. Since many of our schools is in the City of Tucson, TPD has increased there presence and we are very appreciative of this effort."