Area district stepping up security following Uvalde school shooting

MIAMISBURG — An area district is stepping up security following the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

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Miamisburg got $56,000 from a state safety grant and is using it to make upgrades. The district has a number of new security upgrades and enhancements, some you’ll even see before you get inside.

Miamisburg City Schools Superintendent Dr. Laura Blessing has about 5,000 kids to protect every day.

“We want our students to feel like school is a safe place, and we want them to see some of our physical safety measures,” Blessing said.

Measures that are new for the new school year after last school year ended in tragedy for families in Uvalde, Texas, where investigators say a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.

In response to that shooting, Blessing said the district is stepping up its efforts to keep the wrong people out but allow first responders to get in.

“We have great partnerships with our city police, our township police, and also our fire district,” Blessing said.

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They all now have swipe cards so they can go into all 10 of the district’s buildings.

“They can all arrive and immediately get access to where they need to be to get help,” Blessing said.

Once inside, there are additional upgrades.

The middle school and high school buildings have new sensors in bathrooms and locker rooms that can detect if a student if vaping and if there is a fight.

They can also pick up on gunshots and notify administrators and first responders.

Another layer— special locks that will be in classrooms next month.

“We will have a device installed in the floor, and there will be a key access here, so if the school needed to secure the classroom, the adult in the room can take this plate and drop it down here, and then this door would be almost impossible to penetrate,” Blessing said.

While Blessing focuses on safety, she wants her students to focus on their studies.

“We want school to always be a welcoming and nurturing environment where they don’t have to constantly feel like they have to have their guard up, because I think that does help all of us be better learners,” Blessing said.

Another approach to security that some districts in our area are is considering is arming teachers. Blessing said that’s not something they’re looking into.

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