MHS administration explains security

Bruce Grigsby
Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — Montrose High School assistant principal Kathy Lemon outlined current and ongoing security issues Friday morning following the attack on MHS student Mallory Haulman which occurred last Tuesday. By all accounts students, faculty, the Montrose Police Department, and medical personnel responded quickly and skillfully to bring about a fortunate outcome in terms of Haulman’s physical health, along with the immediate arrest of a suspect.

Montrose High School, along with schools across the state and country, has been ramping up its security procedures over a number of years. Lemon reviewed the current process of locking down campuses (rather than immediate evacuation) based on both research and the current assessment that school crisis situations create far more danger for students and staff when people are exposed outside secure areas such as classrooms. Lemon cited recent studies which reveal that in the past 50 years there have been no fatalities in school buildings due to fire. For the past several years MHS has implemented lock-down procedures in place of traditional building fire-drill evacuations.

The school also employs two campus security personnel who patrol the campus perimeter and adjacent neighborhood as well as on-campus areas. Their duties include checking doors at entrance and exit points throughout the building. The Montrose Police Department also provides a full-time resource officer on site to assist school officials.

Lemon further emphasized that the school and the district are working with the police department to assess current procedures and find ways to improve campus security. Immediate steps under consideration include implementing student and staff identification badges for entry and installing additional surveillance cameras to expand current coverage. She also reported that faculty and administrative presence has been increased on campus, especially before and after school. In addition to the community meeting held Tuesday evening in the MHS gymnasium, a parent accountability committee meeting is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. in the MHS library to review and brainstorm the situation, according to Jill Myers, principal at the high school.

Lemon commented on the complexities involved in maximizing security, one of which is ascertaining information on students who have been involved in the justice system. Once a student has fulfilled the obligations imposed by the justice system for criminal behavior, the nature of the violations committed outside of school are not available to school officials. Asked about sharing information with teachers who have problematic students enrolled in their classes, she reiterated that outside criminal information is not available to school administrators. When students with disciplinary issues related to school transfer to schools outside of the district, records which are forwarded to new districts include an indication that such issues exist and specific information will be made available to officials upon request.

District spokesperson Linda Gann emphasized first how grateful everyone concerned is with the relatively positive outcome for the Mallory Haulman, given the seriousness of the attack. She added that the district is working with the family to insure that physical and mental health needs are being taken care of. Not diminishing the seriousness of the situation, the fact that Mallory is safe and recovering helps to create an atmosphere in which it is possible to take a thorough and careful approach to evaluating and improving security in Montrose and Olathe schools.

The district has been working for more than a year with Susan Payne, a special agent with the Colorado Springs office of Homeland Security, to gain support and expertise from the national agency. Gann said that Special Agent Payne, who works with the Safe-2-Tell program, will be coming to the district to work with officials to find ways to further improve security procedures. One area to be explored with Payne will be the issue of creating a better interphase between the justice and mental health systems and the school district, including finding improved ways to insure that young people with serious mental disturbances receive the supportive treatment and intervention appropriate and necessary. Gann further indicated that the school district has been taking an aggressive approach to campus security, adding surveillance cameras and studying ways to monitor and secure entry/exit points in schools.