Harford County Public Schools holds community meeting to discuss school safety

(WBFF) — Harford County Public Schools held a public meeting Tuesday, giving parents, staff and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office an opportunity to discuss school safety issues.

Dozens of people gathered at Patterson Mill Middle/High School to discuss how the Harford County school system is doing well in school safety and what could be improved.

“We can evaluate every idea they bring to us to see if we can make our schools safer,” said Dr. Shawn Bulson, superintendent of Harford County Public Schools.

The meeting took place a few weeks after 15-year-old Warren Grant was shot in the school toilet at Joppatown High School.

Jaylen Prince, 16, who also attended Joppatown High School, was charged first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, use of a firearm and other charges. He is accused of pulling a gun from his backpack during an argument and shooting Grant.

Following the shooting, a petition circulated online calling for residents and community members to use metal detectors and clear backpacks in Harford County schools to keep students safe.

“I think the security posture of the school system is in dire straits,” said James McVicker, a student in the Harford County School System. “We really have some work to do and we are making big steps in the right direction. I just think that with a little more time, more outreach to the community and a few more actions, we can make big improvements.”

“From my point of view, I can’t study if I don’t feel safe,” he added.

Bulson said the school system is in the process of considering the types of school safety technology and other resources they can use. They also evaluate day-to-day policies.

“We are going to complete an assessment of existing technologies,” Bulson said. “So some of the things we’re looking at aren’t exactly metal detectors, but again, I think there’s next-generation technology out there. So we will search and evaluate whether it is suitable.”

Aaron Pointon, president of the Harford County School Board, also said a systemwide policy of clearly identifying backpacks is being considered, as well as the possible implementation of other weapons detection systems.

During Tuesday’s meeting, many ideas came up from community members, including more training for school safety liaison officers, more realistic emergency drills, thoughts on how best to monitor student safety in bathrooms, and even adding more school counselors.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said it will support additional SROs in schools. Their latest budget request asked county officials to fund three additional positions.

“This gives us the opportunity to protect more schools with more school resource officers and have greater capacity to reach elementary schools,” said Col. William Davis, chief deputy of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

“As to whether we can put more into it, it all depends on the county executive and whether he wants to fund more school resource officers,” he added.

School officials said they will take feedback from Tuesday’s meeting into account when determining new policies or procedures. While it’s unclear what additional rules might be adopted or when, Bulson said the school system is constantly reviewing safety updates.

“We will constantly make adjustments, but we still do it all the time,” Bulson said. “Our security practices are evolving, we have made many changes over the last six years that I have been here and are constantly looking for ways to improve this.”