GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. This week community partners are meeting in Denver to talk school safety. Fire departments, law enforcement and mental health organizations are among some of them. State Sen. Steve King will be hosting the School Safety Summit.
School safety falls on the shoulders of these various agencies.
King said, "Thirty or 40 years ago school district did what they were supposed to do, cops did what they were supposed to do, fireman did what they were supposed to do. We don't live in that society anymore, we live in a society that's very integrated with mutual response and mutual cooperation."
Christy McGee, spokesperson for School District 51, said, "Really it's all about having that same language through the National Inci Management System and through FEMA, those kinds of things that have came up. We all need to speak the same language, we all need to be on the same page."
At this year's summit, King will discuss his school safety bill with community partners.
"Fourteen other states have a statewide school resource officer programs, I would like to see Colorado be the 15th. We're also going to have the national president for school resource officer association there to talk about the new generation of school resource officers," he said.
Community partners will also be talking about the funding for safer schools.
"Have a new paradigm when it comes to school safety, thinking about it in different ways. Many hands make light work, so finding different ways of funding," said King.
On the local front, conversations to protect our schools continue.
"We've met with local law enforcement, we've brought them into our board meeting, community members as well, and develop now what can put together as short-term action items and what can we kind of do and work on long term," McGee said.
They're also taking action.
"Working with all our local law enforcement agencies just to have a heightened awareness and increased presence around our campuses. They are coming into our campuses, visiting, stopping and doing paperwork things like that, so they're just kind of helping us have that extra set of eyes," she also said.
So far this is the only scheduled school safety summit of the year, King says he would like to see another one happen and keep conversation on the forefront.
The School Safety Summit will be held in Denver on Jan. 18. School administrators, first responders and community leaders are invited. To register, click here.
