PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia is updating its active shooter training for employees.
The Board of Education Thursday night also approved more than $500,000 for additional Philadelphia police officers.
Chief of School Safety Kevin Bethel told the school board that $545,000 in grant money would be used to pay Philadelphia police officers to patrol additional school safety zones and athletic events, respond to school threats, or help the district with active shooter training.
“We can keep officers beyond their tour of duty,” said Bethel. “Oftentimes with our schools because of our shifts, the officers are leaving at the same time we may need them to stay longer to support in one of our corridors.”
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The board also voted to spend $300,000 with the firm Navigate360 for its active shooter training known as ALICE, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
But Board Vice President Mallory Fix-Lopez said safety is more than preventing gun violence. She said she was “blown away” at the unsafe conditions outside Mastbaum High School in Kensington.
“The needles, as you just talked about,” she said. “The human waste.”
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Fix-Lopez asked Bethel if the city was doing enough to address the issue.
“No. And the reality is, it’s unacceptable what’s going on down in that area and more importantly, how it’s impacting our schools,” Bethel said.
Fix-Lopez said it could be the best career and technical school in the city, but that people won’t send their kids there if it’s not safe.
This was the first school board meeting since the district sued the city over a law allowing a panel appointed by the mayor to certify that school buildings were environmentally safe to open.
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The district claims the law would needlessly threaten the opening of school buildings in September. It came after reports of asbestos hazards at Masterman and Science Leadership Academy-Beeber in the summer of 2021.
Board President Reginald Streater responded to criticism from City Council members that rather than work with the city, the district chose to sue the city.
“The board and district did not file the lawsuit without having made multiple attempts to raise our concerns – both during the legislative process and after the bill in question became law,” said Streater.
He said the district was in contact with the city about a solution that did not involve litigation.
The board also voted not to renew three charter schools: First Philadelphia Preparatory, Tacony Academy, and the Philadelphia Charter for the Arts and Sciences at H.R. Edmunds.