FAIRBORN — The Fairborn City School District has a safety plan in place, according to Superintendent Mark North, that is spearheaded by the Fairborn Police Department.
“We have a safety plan that’s in-place and it was developed by following the lead of our police department,” North said at the March 1 school board meeting. “At our local police department, many of our officers have been trained on several aspects of school safety. They also have a (safety) plan in-place that coordinates the two together.”
North highlighted that while some schools around the state have one or no school resource officers throughout its district, Fairborn City Schools includes two. Officer Jim Hern is assigned to patrols Fairborn High School and teaches the introduction to law enforcement class to the students.
Officer Zach Zink is responsible for overseeing the safety of Baker Middle School, and the Fairborn Intermediate School students how to say “no” to drugs through DARE courses.
The new Fairborn Primary School and Fairborn Intermediate Schools that will be constructed in the coming years will enable the Fairborn Police and Fire Departments to keep their eyes on the facilities at all times without stepping foot onto campus.
“[We get] tremendous leadership from our police department,” North said. “… We take our direction from the experts.”
Since the lockdown at Fairborn High School took place in February, Fairborn City School officials have opted to “double up” on state requirements concerning safety drills. Ohio mandates that school districts must hold at least one intruder drill per school year. However, North said Fairborn City Schools will now have two.
