Murphy – With the recent mass school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, educators across the nation have once again been reminded that a worst-nightmare scenario can become a reality. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman on May 24 in what was the third-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
As a result, the Cherokee County Board of Education addressed many of the safety measures in local schools during their regular board meeting earlier this month. Superintendent Jeana Conley said local officials and officers understand that no place is completely safe from this kind of potential tragedy and they engage in regular discussions about the importance of being prepared for the worst.
“If anyone does come on our campus, they will be engaged and they will not walk away,” Conley said on June 9. “I’ve had a lot of talks with our SROs and they’re very passionate, as are all law enforcement officers, about protecting folks. I hope this day never happens (here), but to be very clear, if anybody does ever attempt it, they will be taken out.”
Assistant superintendent John Higdon said lockdown procedures, shelter in place and evacuation serve as the “three go-to alerts we have that students are trained in.”
Higdon said the school system is proud to have 10 school resource officers within the district – six made available through a school safety grant, and another four who are funded locally. Higdon also emphasized the importance of locked entrance doors, cameras that allow front office personnel to see who’s at the door and an electronic system that allows guests to be “buzzed” in. He said those are all part of “the measures we try to put in place to prevent the horror we’re seeing.”
The assistant superintendent added that local schools have state-initiated risk management plans that are shared with law enforcement agencies. Those plans are updated annually and include rally points, mitigation points and floor plans that are not available to the public.
Conley pointed out that school safety protocols changed following the infamous mass shooting in 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
“Run, hide, fight is what we train our students to do, and previously we taught everyone to be sort of passive, lock down and just kind of wait and hide,” she said. “Now we talk about when it’s appropriate with the right-age students, and definitely our teachers, if you have a fire extinguisher ... take them out if you have to. Get ready to engage them.”
Cherokee County Schools holds two lockdown drills per year, including a system-wide lockdown drill for faculty and staff in October 2021 at Murphy High School. That drill simulated an active shooter situation and included a debriefing afterward to look at areas that could be improved.
“By focusing on that, we were able to remind everybody that this is a possibility,” Conley said. “I don’t know if there’s ever a solution you’re ever fully prepared for, but we definitely need to give it the attention every year.
“Even though they aren’t real bullets, you could hear (the sounds) in the hall. Even though you know it’s coming, it was very chilling and makes you think.”