LAKE CITY, SC (WBTW) – Florence School District Three (FSD3) officials held a school safety workshop Thursday night.
Just last month, four Lake City students were arrested in connection with having weapons on campus.
District leaders say while they constantly update their safety plans, this is the first time they invited all school department heads to discuss the changes.
Lake City High School Principal Ned Blake says brainstorming is another way to keep students safe.
“There are still holes we need to fill,” said Blake. “One of my greatest fears is the fear of the unknown. Just coming into a regular school day and not knowing what to expect.”
Principals, custodians, office and cafeteria staff from all eight schools in the district went over emergency plans for things like evacuations or school threats.
Late last month, a video posted on social media showed a teen firing a BB gun on the high school campus which led to an investigation and two-day precautionary school lockdown.
“Our major concern is social media and how it affects our regular school day,” said Blake.
At the beginning of February, three students at Ronald E. McNair New Technology Center were arrested after law officials found a gun on campus.
The district’s talked about upgrading its front entrances at schools since last year. A consultant projects security upgrades district-wide will cost about $300,000. The district is developing its 2018-2019 budget currently to include the cost.
Officials say changes will include a video box at school entrances. A few schools will receive the additional feature over the summer.
“We live in a world where there is a lot of negativity exist from school shootings. Upset folks, just folks coming in angry. Just having a new security system in place will lend itself to us having a sense of hope and secure learning environment for our students,” Blake said.
Law enforcement officials with the Florence County Sheriff’s office Student Resource Officer program and Lake City Police were seen at the meeting to assist with crisis plans.
“We want parents to know we are being proactive. We want to be very proactive in our approach making sure that we are doing everything possible to prevent things from happening. Making sure that we are prepared when it does happen,” said Kasey Feagin, FSD3 Senior Director Of Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability.
The district says they may begin emergency plan changes as soon as Friday.
“Making sure that we review everything and make any needed changes or revisions. We would not wait until next year. We would want to go ahead and make changes if necessary immediately,” said Feagin.
