LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Concerns about violence in Clark County schools have been a topic of discussion at recent school board meetings and now a student is facing attempted murder and sexual assault charges for allegedly attacking an Eldorado High School teacher last week.
CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara was joined by community leaders, including a deputy district attorney and police, for a news conference on Tuesday to discuss school safety efforts.
Superintendent Jara announced that in light of the alleged attack, cameras on campuses will be upgraded, and classroom communication systems and technology will be updated with instantaneous alerts where adults, teachers and staff will be able to contact administrative staff and first responders from any location.
He noted that the technology, performing through a tool called audio enhancement that teachers use, is similar to a panic button. Eldorado and other high schools will be first to implement the new measure, followed by middle and elementary schools.
Superintendent Jara also noted that additional police personnel from Metro police, North Las Vegas police, and Henderson police will support CCSD police throughout the day and during lunch periods.
CCSD Police Chief Mike Blackeye noted that increased police presence around school is typically initiated until the end of the school year as part of a school violence initiative, and that the initiative will just start a month early.
Chief Blackeye said that several emergency systems are already in place to alert the police dispatch center of an incident on campus that are tested monthly, and each classroom has a telephone connected to the district system where a staff number can hit a certain number of digits which will put the school on lockdown. This is separate from the effects of the panic button system that will be implemented.
Last month, Superintendent Jara held a news briefing regarding school violence and outlined some new measures aimed at increasing safety. Those measures included expulsions, single entry points, and helping students with emotional issues.
Superintendent Jara said that starting Monday, principals will be directed to address their entire student bodies and remind them of the student code of conduct they will be held accountable to. He recalled his statements last month that if students violate the code through fighting and physical violence, they will be removed from campus and all major disciplinary infractions will lead them to face expulsion proceedings and be removed from comprehensive schools. They will also also go through a re-engagement process where parents will be responsible to participate with students.
8 News Now asked Superintendent Jara why it took until the alleged attack on a teacher occurring for measures such as those announced to be put in place.
“This is something that as a superintendent, I’m going to do what I need to do to protect educators and students and I’m taking action now,” he said.
From the start of this school year until mid-February, there were more than 5,300 incidents of violence reported on school campuses, according to a report released by the district in February. Harassment or threats accounted for more than 2,300 incidents and assault or battery accounted for more than 1,300 reported incidents. During that period, more than two dozen firearms were confiscated from students.
Parents, students and teachers have spoken up at board meetings saying more needs to be done to curb school violence.
The news conference was held before Wednesday’s planned protest against violence by teachers.
