Chatham paid for study on Savannah High shooting hoax. School police won't share results.

This commentary is written by staff opinion columnist Adam Van Brimmer.

Mistakes and misdeeds. Cover-ups. Retaliation.

Just another day at 208 Bull Street?

The Savannah-Chatham Public School System is in what aviators call a “graveyard spiral.” The superintendent is retiring just months after getting a new contract and saying she still had “work to do.” The public is questioning the disconnect between the graduation rate of 89% and the student readiness rate of 67%. Recently uncovered audit reports show a district top-heavy with administrative staff has long struggled with recording and applying disciplinary actions ― and a former staffer is alleging in a lawsuit that leadership retaliated against her for sounding the alarm on the issue.

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Now, the school system’s police chief is withholding an assessment of the response to the Savannah High School active shooter hoax. What’s worse, Terry Enoch is retaliating against and trying to shame a journalist for requesting what should be public information.

What is the assessment?

Here’s the background: Chatham County contracted with a third-party, the National Policing Institute, to evaluate and report on the “swatting” incident of Nov. 30, 2022 at Savannah High. A 911 call reporting an active shooter at the school prompted a rapid response from law enforcement and public safety personnel, which involved an evacuation and sweep of the school buildings.

The assessment was meant as an after-action or post-mortem report. It would tell Enoch, the district, the school board and the public what was done well but more importantly where improvement is needed.

Enoch talked with reporter Andrew Favakeh about the assessment Feb. 23 and told him the document was available on the National Police Institute website. But the report is not posted at PolicingInstitute.org, and when contacted, an institute official pointed Favakeh back toward the board of education. Favakeh then received a call from a Chatham County employee, and was told that the report would not be made public unless the county wanted it made public.

Favakeh then did what members of the public are supposed to do in this situation: he requested the report via the Georgia Open Records Act.

In retaliation, Justin Pratt, emergency manager and school security coordinator for the school district, canceled what was to be an on-the-record meeting scheduled between Enoch and Favakeh to go over the report. Enoch told Favakeh in a phone conversation he should be ashamed for filing the records request and that “it’s not a good idea to publish our vulnerabilities.”

You’d think the district would already be addressing those “vulnerabilities,” especially in light of school massacres in Uvalde, Texas; Parkland, Florida; and Newtown, Connecticut. Taxpayers have spent millions to harden our school buildings and strengthen campus security over the last decade, and the Savannah High incident provided a real-world test for how that money was spent.

School security: School district guards against tragedy by reinforcing security efforts

By withholding the assessment, the district appears to have something to hide, and is citing exceptions outlined in the open records law regarding safeguards against criminal or terrorist acts. The school system has already incurred heavy criticism for its communication strategy during the Savannah High hoax.

What else didn’t go perfectly? The report no doubt offers valuable insights.

Timeline: How Savannah first responders responded to the Savannah High active shooter hoax

Bullying the public

Meanwhile, Enoch seemed eager to trumpet the report’s positive findings, agreeing to a meeting to discuss a document he is unwilling to share. He has the mistaken impression that this publication’s mission is to be a PR arm for the school system, not a public watchdog focused on holding taxpayer-funded government entities ― such as the school district ― accountable.

And Enoch is willing to bully a journalist as part of the process. In this situation the journalist is the public’s representative, so Enoch is attempting to strongarm all of you.

Pretty sad ― and not at all constructive. As Savannah Morning News’ reporters have demonstrated often in recent years, we don’t back down when it comes to public records and watchdog journalism. The findings of this assessment will come out.

In the meantime, School Board members need to explore the disregard for transparency and the toxic culture exhibited by district administrators. Mistakes are permissible as they can be corrected. Cover-ups and retaliatory tactics, on the other hand, are unacceptable.

Contact Van Brimmer at avanbrimmer@savannahnow.com and follow him on Twitter @SavannahOpinion.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah-Chatham Public Schools withhold active shooter hoax report