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School Administrators Study Columbine Crisis Scenarios

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: March 25, 2009

SHADY HILLS - Columbine changed everything.

During a seminar for school administrators Tuesday at Crews Lake Middle School, Pasco County Sheriff's Lt. Brian Prescott emphasized how everything from law-enforcement responses to the ways schools handle crises was altered by the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.

The presentation was attended by about 20 administrators from across the school district.

"We used to set up a perimeter" if there was a shooter inside a school, said Prescott, who supervises school district resource officers for the sheriff's office. "Now, it's entirely different. If there's a shooter in here, we'll be coming in, charging in."

In the schools, it's no longer a matter of locking down and waiting for police.

"The majority of school shootings end before police get there," he said. "It's a community response. We don't want people trying to subdue a shooter but to get everyone secure - staff and students - and get everybody out of harm's way."

Each administrator was given a crisis-intervention booklet with information about bomb threats, lockdowns, tornado watches and warnings, hazardous materials, fires and other dangerous situations.

Before being dismissed for lunch, the group of administrators broke into pairs to search for fake bombs Prescott hid in nooks and crannies throughout the third floor of the massive middle school.

"Fire extinguishers aren't always just for fires," he said.

Fran Helfrich, assistant principal at Anclote High School, scheduled to open in August in Holiday, described Tuesday's session as a "refresher course."

"When you're in a crisis situation, you need this knowledge," she said. "These situations do happen, but it's unpredictable."

Jennifer Crosby, assistant principal at Wesley Chapel High School, said the course requires administrators to determine whether their crisis plans need tweaking.

"All of our plans are well-designed; it's just going back and making them as perfect as they can be," she said. "The district does a good job of monitoring our kids and keeping us safe."

Ray Gadd, the district's assistant superintendent of support services, said it was important to conduct Tuesday's presentation because of the number of new administrators in the school system.

The seminar's afternoon session focused on lockdown procedures.

"This is a topic you can't train on too much," Prescott said. "We're preparing for a day we hope never happens."

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

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