After six separate gun incidents at Berkeley high schools since Jan. 10, the Berkeley Unified School District’s Ad Hoc Safety Committee has been instructed by the district’s Board of Education to create an action plan for the committee’s gun prevention recommendations on Berkeley high school campuses.
At Wednesday night’s school board meeting, the committee presented its finalized report of 11 recommendations, which include a closed campus for Berkeley High School, adequately visible uniforms for security officers, closed entrances and increased security staffing, while mainly discussing the feasibility of requiring all patrons on campus to wear visible identification.
The committee asked for more than $260,000 — which includes $89,000 already incorporated — in the effort to mainly staff a second Berkeley police presence, two more security officers and four campus monitors. Both the committee and the board are trying to avoid the use of general funds and will investigate other funding services, according to district Superintendent Bill Huyett.
The recommendation that took the most traction at the meeting requires all staff, students and even visitors to wear visible identification while on campus.
Board member Karen Hemphill said this is already required of both staff and students while they are on campus, but currently, there is inadequate enforcement.
Hemphill said at least staff should have visible identification. A student should be able to readily approach a known staff member about a potential suspicion, she said.
Though three of the six board members said they would like to see visible identification for all patrons of Berkeley high schools, the major concern the board presented was how students would be punished if they did not have it.
“Naturally, students without visible ID would not be allowed in social events such as football games and dances,” Hemphill said. “But it should not interfere with academics if a student were to forget their ID during class.”
Leah Wilson, another board member, voted against the use of visible identification, saying she needed more data correlating its need and gun prevention.
On the other hand, Hemphill said she wants to see the use of visible identification move forward.
“I want to see this implemented by the spring of 2012 and to see the committee come back and give an action plan,” Hemphill said.
Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan’s highest priority recommendation of setting a long-term plan to fully close campus in a letter to Huyett in March was deemed unfeasible in the committee’s recommendation.
According to Huyett, currently every period, including those between classes, features a closed campus except for the lunch period. Closing campus during lunch is impractical due to the lack of facilities able to feed students, he said.
Another recommendation that was discussed by the board but was not outlined in the committee’s recommendations was an increased effort to train teachers.
“One of the biggest deterrents is the relationship that students have with adults,” Huyett said. “If staff talked to kids about guns, it would probably have one of the most direct impacts.”
A recommendation that both board and committee members agreed was unfeasible was the use of metal detectors as a means to screen for weapons, even though there was parent interest in implementation of such measures.
“Anyone could pass a gun through those chain-link fences that surround the school,” said John Selawsky, vice president of the board. “All you need is a plier and wire cutters to get through it.”
Instead, the committee plans to invest that energy into the ongoing effort to train security officers in search and seizure procedures and the standards for what constitutes reasonable suspicion, according to the committee’s recommendations.
An action plan that should include an itemized budget with a potential funding source, indicators of success, time and manner of each recommendation’s implementation is expected in August.
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