Berkeley Unified Adopts New Campus Security Recommendations

At the Berkeley Unified School District board meeting on Wednesday night, a special safety committee — formed after instances where guns were found at Berkeley High School — presented new campus safety recommendations for and .

Between January 10 and March 22, four guns were confiscated from students on the Berkeley High School campus, according to the Ad Hoc Safety Committee's report. On March 1, a student was found in possession of a gun at Berkeley Technology Academy.

Safety committee recommendations included increased security staffing at Berkeley High School, reducing the number of entrances to the school to strengthen perimeter security and creating a program that clamps down on bullying and truancy.

The school board approved many of the measures with slight alterations, including the following:

• Adding a second full-time police officer at Berkeley High School
• Maintaining Berkeley High School's currently increased security staff of 12 safety officers
• Requiring that all campus safety officers and monitors wear identifiable uniforms
• Maintaining ongoing communication between district administration and the Berkeley Police Department
• Offering standardized gun and violence education to students at Berkeley High School and Berkeley Technology Academy
• Requiring campus visitors to wear visitor badges and placing signage around campus to direct visitors to the administration building
• Developing a program to strengthen positive school culture, especially by identifying and providing support to students with a history of behavioral problems

The Superintendent's Ad Hoc Safety Committee will present the school board with an action plan in August, to begin implementing measures before school starts. 

Dr. Susan Craig, the district's director of student services, reported that since the last two gun incidents on March 22 at Berkeley High the school has added two security officers, offered safety and conflict resolution training to school staff members, set up an anonymous hotline where students can warn the school of safety threats and limited the number of campus entrances.

"There were no more incidents in the final three months of school, so [the measures] can make a difference," said Superintendent Bill Huyett, who was also a member of the safety committee.

"We're also recommending that [gun and violence] education be available," said Craig. "This is something that the students on the committee felt very strongly about."

Board members disagreed over whether some recommendations fully address the issue of preventing guns from entering school campuses. Two issues garnered the most debate: the prospect of enforcing a closed campus at Berkeley High School and requring students to carry school identification cards. 

"It's not possible for us to close our campus," said Huyett. "We have a population of 3,000 students."

However, he said the district should continue to explore the prospect of closing the Berkeley High School campus during lunchtime in the future.

"I don't see this as being related to reducing guns," said Board Member Leah Wilson regarding enforcing the closed campus policy. "It's going to take a lot of time to implement, administrative time that I believe should be focused on instruction in the classroom."

Board Member John T. Selawsky disagreed. "If we need to change the culture at Berkeley High, we need to change the culture at Berkeley High," he said, stating that allowing students to freely enter and exit the campus sends them the wrong message.

The safety committee will continue to research the potential impact of a closed Berkeley High campus.

Regarding school identification cards, board members worried that students would forget them, causing administrative and classroom delays if visible identification were required to enter school. "I can just see the kids all taking their IDs off and piling them up somewhere," said Huyett, who advised giving Berkeley High School a year to consider and implement a school identification card requirement.

"What are we going to do with the kids who left them at home?" asked Selawsky. "Are they going to miss school because they don't have their IDs?"

"I think we're underestimating the number of kids who carry their IDs," said Board Member Beatriz Leyva-Cutler.

Selawsky was also concerned that efforts to secure the perimeter of Berkeley High School would fail, unless the school's fencing were changed. "All you need is a pair of pliers or a wire cutter to get through," he said.

One other measure to prevent guns from entering campus was nixed early on. "We do not think metal detectors are a feasible option," said Huyett. "It is not possible to feed 3,000 students through a metal detector."

Instead, the district should focus on behavioral and cultural changes, Huyett added. "Our consultant actually said that the biggest deterrent to guns on campus is kids' relationships with adults," he said.

Implementing the advised measures is expected to cost the district $180,000 this fiscal year, mainly for increased safety staff.