Photo: Detroit Free Press-USA TODAY NETWORK
PONTIAC, Michigan, October 5, 2022 ~ The Oakland County Schools and Oakland County Sheriff’s Office held a discussion forum Monday at the United Wholesale Mortgage Sports Complex in an effort to help school districts boost security and keep kids safe.
The summit, organized by Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Oakland Schools Superintendent Wanda Cook-Robinson, was designed to bolster readiness and curb fears in the wake of last November’s mass shooting at Oxford High School, where four students were killed and many more were injured.
“What’s the first thing that we as parents should be sure that our schools have done to make sure we’re prepared the best we can be,” asked 760 WJR‘s Paul W. Smith.
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October 4, 2022 ~ Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard tells Paul W. that the Oakland County School Safety Summit was a very good first step in working to solve some of the issues associated with school violence.
(CONTINUED) “If you’re not training and haven’t been training your school, get it,” Sheriff Bouchard told Paul W. “We and other police agencies here in Oakland County do it for free. And the second one is, if you’re having any kind of building addition … renovation … new build … include law enforcement. Retrofittings are very expensive. Different kinds of doors and windows, and physical kinds of security that aren’t scary and obvious but are very effective can be done at a low price point during those kind of things.”
Monday’s event hosted more than 150 attendees – including school administrators, police and fire officials, and security experts – who caucused on potential uses for the more than $210 million in school security funding that Michigan legislators have made available in the state’s 2023 budget.
Identified potential uses ranged from ID badges for students and staff, to armed guards, metal detectors, and random contraband searches.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 93 school shootings with casualties at public and private elementary and secondary schools during the 2020–21 school year, more than in any other year since data collection began.
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