The Buford City School System is implementing new safety and security measures in the wake of the Sept. 4 Apalachee High School shooting.
Parents, students, BCSS staff and the community have been on edge after 14-year-old Colt Gray opened fire inside of Apalachee High School in Barrow County killing four and injuring nine. According to law enforcement, Gray was said to have concealed an AR-15 assault rifle in his backpack, later taking it out and opening fire on teachers and students inside the school building.
After receiving feedback from the community and meeting with BCSS administration and the Buford Board of Education, the school system will be implementing several additional safety and security measures.
In addition to the seven existing School Resource Officers currently patrolling Buford City Schools, the school system will be hiring two more SROs. The new SROs will be stationed at Buford Middle School and Buford Senior Academy. Additionally, the two new SROs will float among the other schools within BCSS.
BCSS will be focusing more on mental health resources for students by adding three additional school counselors. Buford High School, Buford Middle School and Buford Senior Academy will each receive one new counselor to focus on the mental health needs of the students.
Lastly, BCSS will be purchasing the Centegix crisis alert management system, which will provide crisis alert badges for all BCSS staff. This is the same system that Apalachee had at the time of the shooting and it is credited with the rapid deployment of law enforcement who were able to intercept suspected gunman Gray before he could take additional lives.
“The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and we are committed to ensuring a secure environment for the Buford community and our school system,” BCSS Superintendent Melanie Reed said.
These new measures will take months to fully implement as BCSS will have to go through the hiring process for the additional SROs and school counselors. It will also take time to install the Centegix system and train BCSS staff on how to use the system.
“We will provide additional communication as information about these and future initiatives transpire,” said Reed in an email sent to the parents of BCSS students.
BCSS currently has a clear book bag policy for all students, as well as a clear bag policy for all school-related activities at BCSS facilities. In addition to BCSS, Clayton County Schools, the Cobb County School District, Decatur City Schools, Douglas County Schools and Rockdale County Public Schools all have clear bag policies in place already.
