Southern Indiana school officials assess security measures

Apr. 14—SOUTHERN INDIANA — A Floyd County parent urged the New Albany-Floyd County school board to hire additional school resource officers in schools in the wake of recent mass shootings.

Jeremy Boehnlein, an officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department and parent of NAFCS elementary students, spoke during public comments at Monday's board meeting.

He referenced the Nashville school shooting that killed three children and three adults in March, and he noted LMPD's response to Monday's shooting at Old National Bank in Louisville, which killed five people.

He said that although police arrived on the scene within three minutes at the Louisville bank, it was not fast enough to save the victims who were killed in the shooting.

He is particularly concerned about access to SROs at the elementary level in NAFCS.

"I hear all the time from local law enforcement how great their response is," Boehnlein said. "Nothing's quicker than having someone inside the building."

News and Tribune spoke to school officials in Clark and Floyd counties to learn about their school safety measures, including threat assessment protocols, SRO staffing and building security.

Thomas Brillhart, assistant superintendent for operations at NAFCS, said when he hears news of another mass shooting, it's "something that keeps you up at night" as administrators work to mitigate possible dangers to school safety.

He said the "job will never be done" pertaining to safety improvements in schools.

"It's a continuation of efforts to make sure we put the best systems in place and have resources in place to help fit the needs of our kids and our families and our staff," Brillhart said. "That will never stop."

Silver Creek School Corp. Superintendent Chad Briggs emphasizes the importance of following the advice, "if you see something, say something."

"Don't see something and think, oh, that's probably not a big deal or somebody else will report it," he said. "We'd rather be called 25 times on something than not be called at all."

Scott Gardner, the safety specialist at Clarksville Community Schools, said recent mass shootings "weigh heavily on our hearts as school staff," and they lead to a constant reevaluation of safety plans.

The News and Tribune reached out via email last week to request an interview with the Greater Clark County Schools administration. Renee Markoski, the executive assistant to the superintendent at Greater Clark, said the administration would not be commenting for the story.

RESPONDING TO THREATS

There have been multiple instances this year that Southern Indiana schools have increased security due to potential threats, and schools have responded to numerous situations this week.

On Friday, school systems across Indiana received bomb threats through email, causing some schools to cancel classes or move to eLearning. Borden-Henryville School Corp. Superintendent Johnny Budd confirmed in a message to families that he was among the superintendents who received the threatening message.

He said after talking to the Clark County Sheriff's Department, Borden-Henryville "did not deem the email to be credible and have elected to operate as normal."

"Our security system, cameras and motion detectors have been reviewed, and there were no activity or motion detection alarms in our buildings overnight," Budd said. "Buildings have been walked by administration and law enforcement this morning."

The Jeffersonville Police Department arrested and charged two Greater Clark students on Thursday for making threats to schools, according to a news release. The students were arrested for isolated threats made at River Valley Middle School and Parkview Middle School.

During the investigation of these threats, no weapons were found at the schools or homes of the students arrested, and the threats were not found to be credible.

On Wednesday, JPD provided additional security Wednesday at Jeffersonville High School after a threat was found Tuesday written on a bathroom stall, according to a news release. The investigation found "no indication that the threat is valid."

In February, a man running with a rifle nearby numerous local schools caused multiple lockdown situations in Clark County, including for Silver Creek, Charlestown and Henryville schools. The man was arrested by the Clark County Sheriff's Department.

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

Brillhart declined to specify NAFCS' current SRO staffing levels, saying he prefers to "keep that information confidential," but he said the district is looking into the possibility of expanding the security presence in NAFCS.

"I think that is something that needs to be considered and needs to be investigated and needs to be studied to make sure that we're applying local resources appropriately," he said.

Floyd County Sheriff Steve Bush said the department provides three SROs in NAFCS, and there are ongoing conversations with school administration to consider expand the department's presence at the elementary level. The district works with NAPD for SROs in New Albany schools.

Brillhart said the NAFCS relies on local law enforcement for immediate assistance when they face a potentially threatening situation.

"Any time we have a need, they have never told us no," he said.

Budd said there is an SRO at both the Borden and Henryville campuses. The district partners with the Clark County Sheriff's Department.

The Clarksville Police Department provides two SROs for Clarksville Community Schools.

Silver Creek has three SROs, including two for the main campus and one for Silver Creek Primary School. The district works with the Sellersburg Police Department and Clark County Sheriff's Department.

Todd Balmer, assistant superintendent at Silver Creek, said the district is working with the Clark County Sheriff's Department to consider the addition of an additional SRO for the main campus.

THREAT ASSESSMENT

Gardner said Clarksville Community Schools said threat assessment involved "taking any potential comment, statement or online post seriously and investigating it seriously."

"Whether it's an Instagram post or a note found in the hallway, our administrators will work with law enforcement to determine the origin of the note, the intentions of the note or the statement, and we'll proceed appropriately based on that," he said. "Any threat, whether a person intends to act on it or not, is disruptive to us at the school and will be treated seriously both as a school consequence and a legal consequence."

Last year, the NAFCS board updated its threat assessment protocols to help streamline the response to threats in buildings across the district.

Brillhart said NAFCS' threat assessment process serves as a structured checklist for building-level administrators to follow as they respond to a potential threat. The plan allows a team of administrators, social workers and counselors to evaluate the possible threat and determine appropriate steps.

The process makes it harder to "miss something along the way," he said.

NAFCS responds to any type of "proposed threat that could harm a student, whether that's self-harm or possibly harming others," according to Brillhart.

BUILDING SECURITY

NAFCS is looking to continue the "hardening of our facilities and making sure that our facilities are as safe as we can make them from a physicality standpoint," Brillhart said.

"All of our buildings are public school buildings, they're not prisons — we don't want them to be prisons, but we want them to be safe compounds where kids can learn comfortably, staff can teach comfortably and parents can feel good that they're bringing their kids in this building and trusting us with their safety.

The Borden-Henryville board recently provided funding for a new "state-of-the-art" camera system in the district, according to Budd. The district is working to address the issue of safety on "all fronts," he said.

Balmer said Silver Creek has allocated additional funds in the 2023 budget for safety measures, including upgrades to the district's camera system "to provide more footage and give us a better view of what's going on in our buildings" internally and externally.

About three years ago, Silver Creek High School added extra layers of security by remodeling the entryway, providing two doors to go through instead of one.

Silver Creek has recently updated computer systems for visitor background checks to make the process safer and more efficient.

Briggs said this school year, the district has also started using an app that will allow school employees to alert the school office if they need assistance and to quickly dial 911.

MENTAL HEALTH

Gardner said counselors play a key role in conflict resolution issues at Clarksville Community Schools. This could help during the threat assessment process.

"In some cases, it just may need to be some conflict resolution [or] anger management resources that are helpful to that student," he said.

Budd said at Borden-Henryville, mental health has been a focus in its approach to school safety. The district has two school psychologists, two school psychology interns and two licensed social workers serving both campuses.

"I think that's the foundation for promoting safety — teaching kids how to regulate [and] giving that opportunity to talk to experts in the field to provide services that they sometimes need," he said.