Manhattan-Ogden school board reviews school safety

MANHATTAN, KS (KSNT) - It's safe to say that student safety is near the top, if not at the top, of every school district's main focus. The Manhattan-Ogden school board is looking to make its school safety an even higher priority.

Last week the district had to go into lockdown at three different schools. Anthony Middle School went into what the district calls "code black" as an individual not affiliated with the school got into the building. Then at Eisenhower, after a nearby accident, a person started making their way towards the school.
Most recently Friday, February 18th, a lockdown of Manhattan High School where one of the bathrooms was vandalized and investigated as a potential threat.
Wednesday night district leaders sat down to make sure they have full understanding of what took place, reviewing safety protocols and working to determine how the district should move forward.

"I think the things we really look at again are when we have these things that happen, where are the weaknesses or where are the areas we can grow," Manhattan-Ogden School Board President, Karla Hagemeister said. "And we know that our staff is probably the best line of defense that we are ever going to have because our staff know our students, our staff knows our families and our staff care."

The district already has a no door propped open policy. Some other ideas that were discussed to better the safety of the schools were installing sensors in areas that can't be monitored by cameras, adding more school resource officers and more staff to keep an eye on entryways. The district will revisit the issue next Wednesday to further discuss school safety.