IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Winter 2018 | Página 58

Brentwood
Borough
School
District
SUPERINTENDENT’S
M E S S A G E
BY DR . AMY M. BURCH
1. Identification of a safety and security coordinator in each school district.
2. Create a school safety and security committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency (PCCD).
3. Expand the PA State Police’s Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Team (RVAT) unit.
4. Establish mandatory school safety training for school entity employees.
5. Establish standards for school police, school resource officers, and school security guards.
6. Establish the Safe2SaySomething from the Attorney General’s Office.
The Brentwood Borough School District was ahead of the curve in 2010 when we implemented a school police force,
conducted risk assessments, and provided training to our teachers and staff. The District employed full-time school
police officers, part-time officers, and security guards. Risk assessments were conducted, and recommendations were
implemented district wide. The WeTip hotline was also initiated several years ago and offered our students, parents,
teachers, and staff a way to report concerns. We worked collaboratively with our first responders and state emergency
management teams. All of this was accomplished through collaboration of the Board of School Directors and the
administration.
We are encouraged by the steps the PA legislature has taken to improve school safety but are concerned that the
items listed in Act 44 will be unfunded mandates. A two-part grant was offered to all school districts, but of the $52
million dollars available only $25,000 will be guaranteed to districts that apply appropriately. The remaining money,
estimated to be approximately $42 million dollars was offered as a competitive grant. It leads to the question, “Which
school districts will be able to improve school safety capabilities through this grant and which school districts will not?”
It is our belief that all children deserve to feel safe and secure. If the PA legislature truly believes that our children must
have new mandates to be safe at school, then they should approve the necessary funding.
A top priority of the Brentwood Borough School District is the safety and security of the students. On June 2, 2018,
Act 44 was passed by the Pennsylvania legislature and was designed to implement across Pennsylvania the following:
We remain committed to the safety and security of our students. We will continue to refine our programs, policies,
and procedures as our assessments recommend. Often parents ask how they can support the district. One way is to call
our local representatives, Representative Harry Readshaw and Senator James Brewster and encourage them to support
appropriately funding our district.
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