REPORTER NEWS / CELINDA EMISON - 2/25/2010

Prevention is the name of the game when it comes to safety at schools in Abilene and Wylie.

In the wake of the Tuesday shooting in Littleton, Colo., where two middle school students were injured when a gunman entered the campus and began shooting, officials in both local districts stressed the importance of maintaining a safe environment for students.

Abilene ISD has several safety measures in place, including school resource officers, high school identification cards and continued training of school resource officers, said Steve Post, AISD’s director of student services.

School resource officers have elementary campuses assigned to them.

“They respond when called by principals,” Post said. “We do incorporate a character education and/or anti-bullying programs at the elementary level in an effort to be proactive.”

High school students wear the photo identification cards around their necks so no strangers can sneak in.

Districts also must turn in a “safety audit” to the state every three years.

“Next school year, 2010-2011, will be the year we do the formal audit again,” Post said. “However, safety measures are always a priority, and we continually work with other local agencies (city emergency manager, fire, police) to maintain as safe of a school environment as possible.”

AISD’s latest safety audit revealed minor safety hazards such as janitors leaving out chemicals and schools leaving back doors unlocked during the day, Post said.

All schools also have enacted emergency plans and “lockdown drills,” a scheme that came in handy in January 2008 when Cooper High School students were kept in class for 90 minutes while police chased a bank robber in the vicinity.

Abilene schools also started using V-soft software that scans visitors’ IDs through a sex offender database.

Cooper High School is the only district campus that has security cameras.

Part of the bond election in 2008 had provisions for cameras, but the bond did not pass. The bond would have included security equipment for all of Abilene’s campuses and Shotwell Stadium. The equipment was estimated to cost $2.4 million, said Joe Humphrey, construction manager for AISD.

Many of the campuses, built in the 1950s, are open, meaning classrooms have outside access.

“All these campuses were built in an era when security was not an issue,” Humphrey said. “Newer campuses have central hallways.”

But in recent years, fences have been built around almost all of the AISD campuses.

“There are very limited entries and exits at the campuses,” Humphrey said.

There are cameras at all the campuses in Wylie ISD. Wylie also has a school resource officer and conducts regular safety drills.

“The officer is shared by all the campuses but mainly stays at the high school,” said Superintendent Joey Light.

There is limited access to the schools except for the main entry areas, Light said.

“We make sure that anybody who enters the buildings has to sign in,” Light said.

A districtwide safety audit is coming up before the end of the school year.

“There is no doubt that our administrators try to stay vigilant and aware of what is going on at their campus,” Light said. “You can never tell what is going to happen, but we just try to be as prepared as we can.”