PASCACK VALLEY AREA — With the nation’s youth, and many others, fed up with federal inaction on mass shootings, local officials say the recent tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is much on their minds—and its lessons will beef up security here already under constant refinement.
The Feb. 14 shooting by a troubled former student “shattered the hearts of millions of Americans,” Mayor John Birkner Jr. reported at Westwood’s Feb. 20 council meeting.
He added, “This murderous rampage has brought the focus once again to school security in an age where access to high capacity rapid-fire weapons is far too easy and the occurrence of mass shootings becoming much too commonplace.”
He said in the tragedy’s aftermath he had discussions with Westwood Regional School District Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez, acting Westwood Police Chief Matthew McClutchy, and Police Detective Warren Morrel, the borough’s juvenile officer and school resource officer.
The talks were the latest in a long series that have led to marked safety gains here, Birkner said.
He also reviewed what the Westwood Regional School District, in partnership with its member community governing bodies and police departments, is doing to keep the schools safe.
Gonzalez told Pascack Press on Jan. 23 that “school safety and security, in its many forms, continues to be a priority for the Westwood Regional Board of Education and administration.”
He lauded the district’s partnership with the police departments of the Township of Washington and Borough of Westwood, which he said “provides us with the necessary supports to keep our schools safe each and every day. Together, we are striving to create a collective culture of responsibility for school security.”
P. Erik Gundersen, superintendent of schools for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, told Pascack Press that his district makes safety and security “both physically and emotionally” a priority.
In addition to constant reviews on readiness, the district partners with constituent police departments to employ four special law enforcement officers, Class III, in school buildings.
The officers engage monthly in training and lockdown exercises and enhance mental health supports in school wellness centers, he said.
National conversation proceeds; students to walk out March 14
Meanwhile, President Donald J. Trump, at a White House discussion Thursday on school safety solutions with state and local officials, called for training up to 40 percent of teachers in the handling of firearms and said perhaps “a little bit of a bonus” could be given those who carry.
“They’ll frankly feel more comfortable having the gun anyway. But you give them a little bit of a bonus,” he added.
He also floated spending federal funds to train them.
“I want my schools protected just like I want my banks protected,” Trump said.
Also Thursday, National Rifle Association Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, defended the Second Amendment against what he called “new European socialists” bent on taking control of Congress and the White House.
And students across New Jersey, following the lead of teen survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, are set to join a national walkout on March 14, part of a national grassroots effort demanding action to end gun violence.
The students will leave their schools from 10 to 10:17 a.m., the vigil lasting one minute for every person killed in the Parkland shooting.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said he was proud of the students for “showing us the way” and promised the state Department of Education would send schools guidelines toward allowing for safe protests.
Resident wants school buttoned up
Also speaking at the Feb. 20 Westwood council meeting was resident ToniAnn Migliore, who urged officials that “Something needs to be done. We need to come together as a community to keep our children safe.”
She said, “Tell me what I can do. Tell me what I can do to help and I will do it. I will not stop until my kids are safe.”
She also recommended as a priority, “Keep the gunman outside the school and make sure that he can’t enter. That’s my main focus. Let’s not wait until it’s too late.”
She suggested reaching out to teachers more for their views and for ratcheting down physical access to the school.
“Kids that are doing this are kids who went to these schools or have someone that worked there. They know these schools. They get buzzed in. Once you get buzzed in they ask you to come to the office,” she said.
“You’re already in the school. There’s no separate entrance to prevent them from going further,” she added.
Visitors, including parents dropping off lunches, she said, should be met at the door.
“They don’t have to go in,” she suggested.
At Parkland, 14 students and three staff members were killed and many others wounded or injured, including at least 14 who were taken to area hospitals.
Former Woodcliff Lake resident Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, a freshman, who lived in the borough from about 2010 to 2014 before moving to Florida, was among the 17 people killed.
Of those killed, 12 died in the school, two just outside the school buildings, one on the street, and two at the hospital.
An armed, uniformed sheriff’s deputy ostensibly guarding the school resigned after an internal investigation revealed he failed to act as bullets flew.
Westwood Regional security chief touts partnerships
Westwood Regional School District security chief Jonathan Miller, a retired police captain with decades of law enforcement experience, works continuously with police to develop and coordinate security measures at all six schools within the district.
On Dec. 14, 2017, Miller updated the Board of Education and the public on district safety and security, speaking to improved radio communications, new digital security cameras in buildings and on buses, all exterior doors having been renumbered following National Fire Protection Association guidelines, and an aggressive visitor access management system.
In that system, each visitor must check in using valid government identification, and is photographed and checked against databases including, potentially, a sexual offender registry. If they pass, they get a printed ID badge.
The presentation, publically available at the school board’s tab on wwrsd.org, calls out improvements to internal communications and procedures on lockdowns, sheltering in place, evacuations, bomb threats, and other critical incidents.
It also shows that the security is discussed at regular faculty and staff meetings, and a photo used in the presentation shows Miller leading an assembly for young children on lockdown procedures.
Miller said he coordinates with the Bergen County Association of School Security Professionals, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the state Department of Education’s Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning, and the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
Miller said police monitor social media feeds, interact with school counselors, identify and act on “red flag” activity, and continue to review, enhance, and improve security measures.
Cameras at each school feed constantly to the police dispatch center and detective bureau.
Meanwhile, Westwood’s governing body is looking at improving fiber-optic networking to increase data transmission capacity between the schools, the borough, and surrounding municipalities.
Birkner said the Westwood Police Department staffs two members of the Bergen County Regional SWAT team trained in active shooter response, hostage negotiation, and rapid deployment. Their team patrols the area constantly.
He added Morrel meets monthly with law enforcement professionals from throughout Bergen County to identify trends in law enforcement, training techniques, and security measures.
The officer coordinates with the schools to conduct training drills such as lockdown, active shooter, and shelter in place four to five times per month, Birkner said.
Each drill concludes with a review to identify potential deficiencies and implement fixes.
Officials said the schools have dedicated counselors on staff trained in crisis management and that the schools’ strategic plan includes mental health and wellness as well as awareness training.