Schools revisit safety plans

Published 10:04 pm Friday, February 1, 2013

In response to recent severe weather and safety issues, schools are revisiting safety measures in an effort to make sure they are prepared for the worst.

During the Dallas County Board of Education meeting Thursday, Dr. Fannie McKenzie, Dallas County Schools superintendent, expressed her concern for increased weather precautions in schools.

“In light of recent incidents our schools have begun to revisit their safety plans,” McKenzie said, adding that additional drills and lockdown procedures have been practiced recently.

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On Monday, McKenzie said Rhonda Abbott of Dallas County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, as well as a representative from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, will visit with local school principals to address any concerns.

“They’re going to work with each school individually to do an assessment to see if there’s any holes in their emergency weather or lockdown plans,” McKenzie said. “We’ll also have two other agencies come in to make sure there are no faults in the system in terms of safety.”

Information will also be sent to the state department regarding school communication systems, locks, cameras and other safety precautions, McKenzie said.

“We’ll be sending information on those precautionary measures because we think there may be some possible funding in those areas,” she said.