School safety has taken on a whole new meaning

Marisa O’Neil

School safety used to mean knowing how to hide under a desk or get

out to the athletic field.

Today, it means dealing with threats ranging from a gun-toting

student to a chemical attack.

Orange County school and law enforcement officials discussed the

problems of preparing for the unknown in a school safety community

forum at UC Irvine on Monday.

“It may not be a matter of ‘if’ [something happens],” said Sara

Kaminske, manager of safety and emergency preparedness for the Orange

County Department of Education. “It may just be a matter of ‘when.’”

Representatives from the Orange County Department of Education,

Sheriff’s Department and risk management companies discussed ways to

deal with threats from nature, students and terrorists. UCI’s Center

for Unconventional Security Affairs, which integrates people from the

public and private sectors to research and address a variety of

threats, presented the forum.

While all Orange County schools hold drills to prepare for fires

or earthquakes, they should also have other contingency plans, said

Orange County Supt. of Schools William Habermehl. If an earthquake

damages the school and 1,000 students can’t reenter it, for example,

or if it starts raining after an evacuation, school administrators

should have a plan.

“Don’t assume you have all the answers,” Habermehl said. “Play

‘What If ... ?’”

Homeland Security is also a concern for school districts. Schools

represent “soft targets” -- ones not fortified with extra security --

for terrorists, said Alon Stivi, president of Direct Measures

International, which provides security analysis and safety education.

Terrorists’ greatest weapon is fear, he said, which makes schools

attractive targets.

Stivi recommended that schools form Crisis Response Teams on

campus. In an emergency, they would coordinate plans and direct first

responders to any problem areas in the school.

Speakers from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department talked about

their safety measures, including the School Mobile Assessment

Resource Team, a SWAT-like unit trained for rapid response in school

emergencies.

“Kids don’t learn if they’re frightened or worried about safety,”

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said. “Parents don’t send kids to

school if they think they won’t come back.”

The Sheriff’s Department has coordinated with the Capistrano

Unified School District to put school information on a computer

network. Officers responding to a school emergency can access campus

maps, 360-degree views of some areas, photographs of staff and find

out where to shut off utilities.

In Newport-Mesa, the greatest risks are earthquake, flood or

tsunamis, said Arthur Cummins, Orange County Department of Education

crisis response network coordinator. Terrorists could also

potentially target bridges in Newport Beach, preventing speedy

evacuation, or could contaminate the water in the bay.

TeWinkle Middle School Principal Jeff Gall, who attended the

forum, said he works with school resource officers from the Costa

Mesa Police Department to formulate plans for evacuation, lockdown

and reunification. After attending the forum, he said that he would

coordinate with officers to apply some of the new ideas.

“To us, the biggest threat is the unknown,” he said.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.