Superintendent of Wadsworth City Schools, Dale Fortner, informed the Wadsworth school board that March 28 will be set aside for safety training for all school employees.
Fortner said the Ohio Department of Education has granted the system the right to use an instructional day for this purpose, thus, spring break for the students will begin one day earlier.
School board member David White said the school system has a safety plan in effect and is "pretty well prepared for a crisis."
White said, in regards to safety, "the board does not take any of this lightly." He said he was familiar with concerns parents brought to city council.
White said in improving the safety plan, "we have to do it diligently." He said, "It will be a written, well-thought-out program." White said Dr. Fortner has met with one consultant and is expected to meet with another one.
"This building [the new high school building which opened in September] is full of cameras and panic buttons," White noted. "We will not let parents stand at the entrance ways with guns."
When the plan is completed, White explained, some parts of the plan will be explained, others will not for security purposes. He said, "It is a sad day that we have to do this."
Fortner emphasized the system has to submit the plan to the state and the system has had an agreement with the city's safety forces since 2004.
"We work with the city all the time," he noted.
Wadsworth Safety Director Matt Hiscock told the school board the city was committed to working with the school board and indicated Wadsworth is better off than most communities.
Hiscock said at the January meeting of City Council's Safety Committee that one of his goals was to have a dedicated school resource officer who would work closely with the schools.
Fortner also informed board members of that a special meeting of the board will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Charles Parsons Administration Building and at 7 p.m. on Thursday, a dedication ceremony will be held for the Parsons building. The Parsons building is named in honor of former Wadsworth Superintendent Charles Parsons and is housed in the building formerly occupied by Overlook Elementary School.
