STILLWATER, Okla. -- The Stillwater Public School district brought in a security expert to determine where they can improve their security.
Ken Trump, President of the National School Safety and Security Services, spent a week at the schools looking at procedures, policies, the physical buildings, interviewing teachers and students and holding a meeting with parents.
"Some of them may be simple, access control, visitor management, communication," Trump said of his possible recommendations. "One of the biggest thing is communication."
Teachers are excited that someone is going to be examining the procedures and the schools.
"In my classroom, I have a window," Meggon Wilson, a preschool teacher and parent, said. "I am one of the areas the safety team has come and looked at and that is a concern for me. I love having a window, but on the other hand that is a safety concern."
During the forum, parents asked about metal detectors, which Trump said are not a fix-all solution.
He said they have to be running 24/7 or students could come in when they are off. He also said students would have to get to school hours early to get through the metal detectors and then they are exposed while they are in line outside of the school.
Trump said even schools that have had mass shootings are not using metal detectors.
"In those schools that have metal detectors, surveillance cameras and other security technology and hardware, the students perceptions of their safety are actually lower in terms of they feel less safe because of all the equipment," Trump said.
He warns that some of the new security technology is not the best solution and can be expensive.
Student resource officers are a piece of the safety puzzle that Trump said can be effective.
Stillwater Public Schools Superintendent Marc Moore said once they get Trump's recommendations, they could see changes in the coming months.
'Also kind of a priority list of, 'Hey if you've got some silly money, if you're looking at a bond issue next time this is the way you need to spend your money and this is what I would do first,'" Moore said.
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