SROs, better IDs and more: JMCSS works to secure campuses

JACKSON, Tenn. — A local school district says it is continuing to put student and employee safety as their number one priority.

“We’re always saying what can we do better. The top priority from Dr. King from day one has been safety and security. To protect and to educate,” said Tim Gilmer, with the Jackson-Madison County School System.

And with the recent mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the district is making sure every precaution is taken.

Gilmer says they had already been implementing new safety procedures. He says future plans are in the works.

“It all starts with our emergency operation plans, which we have a district where each school does their own. We do a security assessment walk through every year. Look at it and say, ‘Okay. What does this school need to become more safe,'” Gilmer said.

Gilmer says there are more safety protocols planned for the future of the district, including an ID badge for each employee that does more than just say their name.

“They activate it, lights go off in that area and alert the safety team. That would alert that we need to lock the building down. Just having that on every employee’s neck is going to be huge,” Gilmer said.

Metal detectors and student resource officers are also in Jackson-Madison County Schools.

School officials met with the Madison County Budget Committee, and the committee talked about eventually having those safety measures for each school in the district.

“We have SROs in all of our high schools and all of our middle schools. They want to look at putting them in every school. We are on board with that. We would love to have them in every school. This last school year I put walk-through scanners in. We have them in all of our high schools. We want to get them in all of our schools,” Gilmer said.

He says that Superintendent Dr. Marlon King has always put the safety and education of students on top.

“He has put the resources in it to prove that when he says something, he means it. And it is our top priority to protect and educate. Protection comes first because without that, education doesn’t come,” Gilmer said.

Gilmer says they hope to have the ID badges available for each employee by fall of this year.

Find more local news here.