The Perry School District is continuing to enhance its security and safety measures.

Superintendent Clark Wicks tells Raccoon Valley Radio he shared with the School Board at their regular October meeting about two elements the district will have in the event of an emergency at any of the school buildings. He says there are three associate principals that are undergoing active shooter training: Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate (ALICE). He adds all staff will also go through the general ALICE training in five sessions to be done on Wednesdays.

Wicks notes another safety measure is adding an additional emergency radio to each of the school buildings and he explains what this equipment can do.

“With just a press of a button, we’ll notify all county and city law enforcement and they will be at the school immediately. It’s just another layer of what we’re trying to do to make sure that kids are safe, that staff are safe, and that we can function and be there for teaching and learning.”    

Wicks points out that while they hope to never need to use these security enhancements, it’s always better to err on the side of caution.

“Your key there is preparation and be ready. Not that we want to put fear into anybody but we want to make sure that we’re (as) prepared as possible so that in case of an emergency like that we’re ready to go.”

These two items were discussions by Wicks and no approval needed from the board.