District hosts state expert on emergency planning

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The topic of school safety was presented at Bloomfield High School by the school district on Monday evening, March 12. The guest speaker was Thomas Gambino, from the Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning, of the state Department of Education. He was introduced by Schools Superintendent Sal Goncalves who called him an old friend.

Gambino came with a warning that school districts should take every precaution to protect their children from active shooters and he had statistics to back his concerns.

But while the statistics were troubling, there was still an unsettling tug-of-war between social changes and cultural changes during the program.
“The role of the teacher has changed,” Gambino said. “It’s not so Johnny can read, but that he is safe.”

Statistics showing degrees of savagery over the last two decades by killers armed with assault weapons against helpless school children were presented.

The places where the killing occurred were familiar. Somewhat ironically was the information that the greatest mass killing of school children happened over 90 years ago, in 1927. A Bath, Mich. board of education member dynamited a school because he was upset over school taxes. Thirty-eight children were killed.

Both Gambino and Goncalves stressed that times have changed and daily security measures are needed. But while Gambino recommended having one door to enter a school and another to exit; always having metal detectors in place because even a small child could unwittingly transport a weapon for an older student, and having windows closed; Goncalves differentiated between changes in society and culture. He said the district was in the business of education and keeping children safe.

“We want school to be an enjoyment, not a prison,” he told an audience of about 200 educators and parents.
This was not in refutation of Gambino who makes recommendations to schools and hopefully leaves them a safer place. That was understood.
For example, in speaking about school safety drills, Goncalves said practicing a drill is easier at some hours during the day and not at others. The most challenging drill to be scheduled was when students were having lunch in the cafeteria in a school the size of BHS, he said. The school has more than 2,000 students.

“The teachers are doing the drills regularly,” he said. “Are the drills perfect? No. But no one in this room would feel worse than me if any child was to be hurt.”

Bloomfield School Safety Specialist Joseph Fleres said the district was taking a holistic approach, that education was not just about security, but also feeling good about coming to school. He was publicly complimented by a parent for saying this. Gambino had said that 91 percent of active shooters had an affiliation with the targeted institution.

The position of school safety specialist is new to the district. Fleres is also the director of elementary education.
Goncalves recommended that parents make appointments with their child’s school principal to discuss security.
“We’re not trying to hide anything,” he said. “We’re just trying to be safe in a crazy world.”

Gambino gave much credit to school secretaries who are responsible from pressing the button to unlatch the front door to let a visitor in. He also told people, once the door was unlocked for them, to prevent anyone else from entering the school without the secretary’s OK.

But more importantly, Gambino wanted this sort of vigilance at the social level. He said 81 percent of the time, at least one person knew the intent of someone determined to be an active shooter; 59 percent of the time, more than one person knew beforehand.
“School security is the job of the entire community,” he said. “The signs are there. What are the community and the parents doing?”
This presentation was recorded by the local TV station for later viewing.