Orange County Grand Jury • 2017-2018 • Agency Response
Response to: Buena Park School District

Buena Park School District*

Published: July 23, 2018 4 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1
School safety and security are priorities in every school district in the Orange County public school system. Response to F.1.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding. Educating students in a safe and secure environment is a priority of the Buena Park School District.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
School districts should explore all possible funding resources that may be available in order to implement desired security measures. (F.2.) Response to R.1.: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented during fiscal year 2018-19, with analysis of every available security funding source being investigated.
F2
The implementation of security measures for schools, in many cases is limited by funding. Response to F.2.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding. The extent to which our school can implement any type and extent of security measures is often dependent on funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
School districts should re-evaluate the lack of secure fencing on all school campuses and present a report to their respective boards by December 31, 2018, outlining their plans to make campuses more secure. (F.2., F.3.) 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools – What Can We Do? Response of Buena Park School District July 23, 2018 Response to R.2.: The recommendation is being implemented with review by the districts security consultant. All Buena Park Schools have perimeter fencing and a requirement for a single point of entry during the school day hours.
F3
Many Orange County school campuses were constructed to reflect and "open and inviting" atmosphere but are now faced with physical and philosophical security issues that challenge this thinking. Response to F.3.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding. Of the schools within our district, all were built in the 1950's and 1960's and can be considered to reflect an "open and inviting" atmosphere.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
School District should implement procedures to ensure that all campuses maintain a complete, daily log (electronic or manual) of every visitor and volunteer entering and exiting the campus, excluding program events such as awards ceremonies, athletic events, or stage and or musical productions. (F.4.) Response to R.3.: The recommendation has not been implemented, but will be reviewed for implementation during fiscal school year 2018-19.
F4
While every Orange County school district reported the use of a campus visitor sign-in process, there is a lack of procedural consistency among school campuses. Response to F.4.: Buena Park School District agrees with this finding as it pertains to its schools.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
School Districts should implement procedures to ensure that photo identification is required of all campus visitors and volunteers before a visitor badge is issued. (F.4., F.5.) Response to R.4.: The recommendation has not been implemented, but will be reviewed for implementation at every Buena Park School District site during fiscal year 2018-19.
F5
Many districts or school campuses do not require all teachers, staff, and volunteers to wear ID badges while on campus, making identification of authorized personnel difficult for substitute teachers, student teachers, visitors, volunteers, and first responders. 2017-18 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Buena Park School District July 23, 2018 Response to F.5.: Buena Park School District agrees with this findings and is working on universal procedures for each school within the District.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
School districts should implement procedures to ensure that all faculty and staff are required to wear visible photo ID badges while on campus. (F.5.) Response to R.5.: The recommendation has not been implemented, but will be implemented with the start of the 2018-19 school year.
F6
Currently, student ID badges, which could easily distinguish students from non-students of similar age, are not required to be worn by Orange County middle and high school students. Response to F.6.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding as it pertains to our schools. The Buena Park School District is evaluating student ID badges and expects to soon require all middle school students wear a badge while present on the district campus.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
All school districts with middle or high school campuses should consider using Student ID cards in a format to be worn as student ID badges while on campus. (F.6.) Response to R.6.: The recommendation has not been implemented, the District will be working with all staff for implementation during the 2018-19 school year.
F7
Campus personnel and volunteers, while on duty outside the classroom, have an inconsistent usage or availability of communication devices for emergency situations. Response to F.7.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding. As it pertains to our schools, we have communication devices for personnel and will be working on procedures for training and usage during the upcoming school years.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
School districts should evaluate available communications devices and ensure that custodial and supervisory personnel, as well as safety resource officers, playground supervisors and coaches, have two-way radios or equivalent communications devices with them at all times, enabling instant two-way communication with the office. (F.7.) Response to R.7.: The recommendation has been implemented, all personnel listed in R.7. have two-way radios to communicate with the office in the case of an emergency.
F8
There is no documentation or reporting protocol within the districts of individual security incidents, making it difficult to track, analyze, and summarize incidents. Response to F.8.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding. As it pertains to our schools we are updating our 911 procedures for reporting and tracking.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
School districts should consider requiring that all campus incidents of unauthorized access be recorded, tracked, and reported to the district office on a quarterly basis. All districts should share these reports with the Orange County Department of Education. (F.8.) 2017-18 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Buena Park School District July 23, 2018 Response to R.8.: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will reviewed for implementation during the 2018-19 school year and beyond.
F9
While every Orange County school develops a school safety plan, few schools have used an individual school security assessment to identify deficiencies or to develop a required plan. Response to F.9.: The Buena Park School District agrees with this finding. As it pertains to our schools we have contacted with a security assessment consultant to review and make recommendations at all of the Buena Park School Districts schools sites and district office. RECOMMENDATIONS
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
School districts should evaluate requiring each school to perform a school security assessment to evaluate their current school safety plan. (F.9.) Response to R.9.: The recommendation is in the process of being implemented. A security consultant has assessed each school in the Buena Park School District. Recommendations will be reviewed and incorporated in the school safety plans. Sincerely, Richard Holash Assistant Superintendent, Administrative Services

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.