SMACKOVER — The Smackover-Norphlet School District entered a partnership with the Smackover Police Department to provide a school resource officer.
“It’s been a joint effort. We’ve … met with the police, Chief of Police Michael Fife, Mayor Bobby Neal, met informally with some board members, aldermen, staff and it’s really something that’s been a group effort,” he said. “The way we’ll be working that out is Smackover police officers, on their days off, they’ll be coming to work a full day at the school. We’ll have one that’ll be shared between all of our campuses.”
Per the school board approving Wilcox’s recommendation, the first school resource officer will report for duty Monday, following the district’s spring break, he said.
“I think it will make everyone feel a little better, just in the wake of all of the recent tragedies,” the superintendent said. “You can say safety is the first priority, but we’re looking at are we really making it a top priority. So that’s why we’re getting a school resource officer. That’s why we’re getting more training for ourselves to be prepared in the event of any kind of safety issue.”
District administrators took part in a safety assessment training webinar Wednesday. Staff will all go through active shooter training on Aug. 6, he said.
“I want to say approximately two hours of it will be group setting, them presenting and talking, and then another two hours them broken up into age appropriate (groups) … I don’t know entirely what to expect,” Wilcox said. “Wednesday … it basically a training telling us how to do an assessment, which will include a crime assessment—which is a survey for school administrators and school personnel— and safety survey, which is for staff and students.”
With community members involved, district employees will also put a “perimeter issue checklist” to “identify potential safety risks.” Data from the assessments and checklist will be compiled and prioritized next month, the superintendent said.
In response to a rumor alleging a student entered the Smackover High School locker room with weapons, he said, “You’re talking about a couple weeks ago? Yeah, that never happened. If we had found a kid with a gun, we would’ve contacted police. We’d have all read about it by now.”
School board members also approved to hire Brian Brown as the head football coach, extend teacher contract through 2018-2019 and adopt policy amendments as recommended by the Arkansas School Boards Association.
The Smackover-Norphlet School Board’s next meeting is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. April 10 in the central office boardroom.
Brittany Williams may be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook @BWilliamsEDNT for updates on Union County school news.