How Stockton schools' safety chief is making changes after stabbing death of Stagg teen
As the community remembered the 1989 Cleveland School shooting last week, The Record caught up with Stockton Unified School District’s top safety official for an update on the district’s efforts to keep kids safe.
“The whole program is being built back,” said Marcus Omlin, SUSD’s emergency service and school safety program coordinator. Omlin was rehired in September 2022 — through a one-time funding source. The district had eliminated his position in 2021 to cut costs.
Omlin said the program fell apart after his departure.
“I want to finish what I started,” Omlin said. “This program is so immensely important to the district ... I gauge my expectations as if my child were at that site.”
Recovering after tragedy strikes at Stagg High School
Before Omlin was rehired, Stockton suffered a tragedy at Stagg High School. On April 18, 2022, a man entered the school parking lot and fatally stabbed 15-year-old freshman Alycia Reynaga in front of classrooms full of students.
The Record later reported that the security checkpoint at Stagg was unmanned the morning Reynaga was killed. Four of the seven campus security guards were absent.
“My heart went out to that young lady that was killed … I took it personal,” Omlin said. “I was the custodian of that (safety) program and for the program not to continue...”
Omlin said he knows the district cannot prevent every bad thing from happening, but having a succession plan for overseeing safety is of paramount importance.
When Omlin’s job was eliminated in 2021, he said he said there was no formal handoff of responsibilities despite his best efforts.
“You can’t just come in here and go, ‘Oh, by the way, we’re just getting rid of this whole program,” Omlin said. “(I) want to make sure this time when (I) leave that they’re in good hands, that they’ve got everything they need to be successful.”
Assessing and responding to all threats
At least four firearms-related incidents occurred at SUSD campuses in the first five months of the 2022-23 academic year.
On-site training, plans and procedures Omlin is reinstituting all point to what he believes to be the sturdiest defense against violence: threat assessment.
“You’re going to know the warning signs of a potential shooter,” Omlin said. “All shooters display leakage behavior.”
Threat assessment is part of Omlin’s ethos of “layers of protection,” and it extends beyond just violence. Since his return, Omlin has responded to summer heatwaves and winter storms.
Water is now on SUSD’s buses, which have no air conditioning. During the storms in January, SUSD’s lost some of its food supply when water leaks compromised the kitchen dry storage at Caesar Chavez High School. Omlin’s plan for food defense kicked into action. The district was able to get food distribution back up and running so that students did not have to miss more than two days of school.
“There’s been many late nights here … It’s creating that culture of safety back within Stockton Unified School District,” Omlin said. “I know this: leadership makes all the difference in the world, and we have good leadership right now with Dr. Miller.”
Overhauling Stockton Unified schools' safety plans
Rockeye Consulting Services, LLC, was on an eight-month, $226,800 contract through December 2022 to provide safety services and update the schools comprehensive school safety plans for board approval after missing last year’s deadline. Those plans have not yet been taken to the board for approval.
Omlin said he’s working on overhauling the school safety plans with a new model and tailoring them to specific school sites to be ready for this year’s approval in March.
“We as a district, not some outside company, are completing this project for our sites,” Omlin said.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton schools' safety chief makes changes after teen's stabbing death
