Nov. 13, 2024 noon
(WGTD)---Last week’s scare at Roosevelt Elementary in Kenosha has prompted Kenosha Unified to possibly accelerate plans to install secure entrances at the seven schools that currently don’t have them.
The disclosure came at school board committee meetings held Tuesday night to discuss district finances and the need for an operational referendum.
The district is exploring ways to finance the $12.5 million secure entrance expenditure over several budget cycles. The tentative plan would add $2 million to next year's projected deficit of nearly $20 million.
The hope is to cover the deficit with passage of an operational referendum. Next week the school board is to consider putting a referendum on the February ballot.
Roosevelt is one of the schools that has a controlled entrance. It came in handy last Thursday. A student later learned to possibly be carrying an air soft gun was prevented from entering the school when he was confronted by a school staffer in a locked vestibule. The 13-year-old ran off.
At Tuesday night's meeting, KUSD Chief of School Leadership Bill Haithcock said other security enhancements are being looked at as well. "What are some of the things we can do right now?" Haithcock asked rhetorically. "I think we just need to make sure we're on the same page. Reminding and retraining our office staff on how we talk to and respond to people...how do we question and confront people in a polite way when they come to our doors."
Facilities head Pat Fennimore reminded the audience that some of the most effective ways of keeping students safe are rooted in common sense. "Locked exterior doors is #1. Locked classroom doors is #2," Fennimore said. "Everything else really kind of pales by comparison." A committee member added that based on her knowledge no student in a locked classroom has ever been killed by an active shooter.
KUSD spends $75,000 each year on replacing doors, and an untold amount of time fixing doors that don't automatically lock when closed, according to Fennimore.
The referendum would ask voters for permission to exceed state levy limits to help finance security improvements, additional prep time for teachers and other things. The school board still needs to decide whether the February referendum would be recurring or non-recurring and what the dollar amounts might be.
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