MANSFIELD — The Mansfield City Schools Board of Education met Tuesday to discuss and then pass a new resolution to support school safety and reduce violence.
The resolution, which passed unanimously, followed a public comment from a mother of two children in the district.
“I’m here to address safety in schools,” Michelle Couch said. “I have one that attends Mansfield Middle School and one that attends second grade at Spanish Immersion.
“Safety wise, for (the second grade student) I would like to recommend someone come in to the classrooms and speak about safety, what to do and if they see something. What kind of punishments there are. She doesn’t really understand what happened, just that (her classmate) isn’t there.”
Last week, a student brought bullets to the Spanish Immersion School.
“I also want to know what happens when that student comes back. Will you check the backpack, coat pockets, things like that?” Couch continued.
She said the counselor at Woodland Elementary has come to speak with her daughter. She noted Spanish Immersion has no counselor.
“I just feel like these are young kids,” Couch said. “They know right and wrong. They just don’t understand the consequences that come with it.”
She referenced an event at Mansfield Senior High School Tuesday morning, in which a student brought a pellet gun on to the campus and forced a lockdown.
Superintendent Brian Garverick said there was a plan to have the School Resource Officers come to each building and discuss school safety. He added more education on the issue is important.
Garverick added the district is planning to add to its total of 85 cameras.
“Let’s put it this way,” the superintendent said. “We’re looking at upping our protocols for what may occur in our schools. The best deterrent or safety effort is relationship building, where kids feel comfortable telling a teacher what they see.
“That first and foremost is a safety measure where kids feel comfortable telling an adult. That’s what happened today.”
The resolution the board passed includes enhancing mental health services, substance abuse issues and helping individuals have sufficient access to those programs.
The resolution also called for an increase in access to safety measures, including school resource officers, school safety infrastructure and other security measures.
It also called for training for school employees with law enforcement agencies and first responders to ensure appropriate responses to any incident of violence in schools.
Later in the meeting, board member Gary Feagin said he would like to see the three students who spoke out about seeing the pellet gun on the bus receive some sort of commendation.
