IN THE MIX:

A while ago I wrote a column about the security officers at Costa Mesa High School.

Since then there’s been some good news; the district is implementing some of the program and still considering adding more. The bad news is, my kids and yours may be graduates by the time someone in charge realizes how much the program in its entirety can do for our schools.

It seems the Newport Mesa Unified School District board is being fair in taking time to evaluate the Costa Mesa high program, but when I listen to the people involved with the school’s security on an everyday basis it’s hard to just sit back and wait.

The former principal of the school, Fred Navarro, is trying to implement it at his schools in Anaheim. He is the assistant superintendent for the Anaheim Union High School District and was part of implementing the program at Costa Mesa.

The school resource officer at Costa Mesa, John Gates, has only positive things to say about the program and the officers. He said he has never seen a program work so well and that he is impressed with the officers’ knowledge of all the students.

Former Costa Mesa Middle School Principal Kirk Bauermeister, the reason I even met with the security staff in the first place, was obviously pleased with the program when he was at the school.

I met Bauermeister when he was getting ready for a move to TeWinkle Middle School.

He was giving me a tour of the high school and showed me the security cameras and led me into the security office to meet staffers Richard Gomez, Albert Marron, Cristina Maaba and Gates.

He said he was planning to bring what they had done at the high school with him to TeWinkle.

The staffers’ system reduced the number of gang affiliations among students and allowed them to hold students accountable for where they should be and whether they are getting into consistent trouble.

The system consists of surveillance cameras, palm pilots and computer programs that track data about student behavior and security guards who are connected with the kids.

But bringing all this to TeWinkle wasn’t going to prove simple for Bauermeister.

In August he said the district wanted to make sure things were in place before adopting the CMHS program, such as proper training of personnel. He said the district agreed to add an extra security guard and a full-time SRO. Assistant Supt. Chuck Hinman said the second security guard is temporary.

He also assured me in an e-mail that the board is always looking for a way to provide a safe environment for the children.

“We are currently committing personnel and resources to ensure that we are fully compliant and up-to-date in our disaster preparedness efforts,” he wrote.

It’s easy for me to believe the board has the best interest of students at the top of their priority list. I’ve known enough school board members to know they have to be concerned with money, but they will do what they can when they can to better the schools.

That’s why it’s hard to understand why officials aren’t saying, “This may take some time and training, but we’re on board and all for adopting it at other schools.”

Gomez and Marron have offered their services to train other security officers and said the current officers at Estancia High School and TeWinkle are eager for the program.

They said the costs would be kept low because they would install the software themselves.

They said they have been asked by other security officers in the district when they can be trained to use the system — security officers who are already employed by the district and eager to make their school safer.

Even if the costs were higher than Gomez and Marron project, I doubt they would exceed the going rate for keeping students safe at school.

The priority of the board should be to make sure the district provides the best education possible for its students. Unfortunately that includes dealing with non-academic issues like providing a safe atmosphere.

It’s about time such a highly-regarded system is put in place in all our middle and high schools.

ALICIA LOPEZ teaches journalism at Orange Coast College and lives in Costa Mesa. She can be reached at lopezinthemix@gmail.com.