by Kevin McLaughlin
Yesterday, a shooting at a high school in Santa Clarita, Calif., reminded students and staff of why we live in an era of lockdowns and active shooter training. In 2018, there were 82 school shooting incidents in the United States. This marks the highest number of school shootings that have been recorded. The second highest number is 59 shootings, which happened in 2006.
In this graph you can see that school shootings were very rare in 2011, but have shot up the last seven years.
In an effort to prevent this from happening on our campus, Irvington has passed a new capital bond that includes money to construct changes to the entrance of the school in order to prevent people coming in that aren’t welcome. This bond also includes the possibility of open walkways being closed off. The entire bond will not be paid for by Irvington taxpayers, as 17-20% of the money will be provided by the state.
Superintendent Harrison said, “In partnership with Altaris, we developed an overview of the District’s emergency protocols to guide the school community on our practices and to provide tips on what to expect should an emergency arise.”
This new bond will benefit student safety, as well as improving areas around the campus.
The bond also paid for changes to the bleachers area next to the field and track. The new bleachers will be raised above the ground, and will have a brand new tower at the top for the announcers, coaches, and to take videos of the games. Additionally, there will be bathrooms underneath the bleachers for fans to use.
