Friday, June 15, 2001
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Friday, June 15, 2001 |
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GEMA honors school board By JOHN
THOMPSON
The Coweta County School System received a pat on the back Tuesday night from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency director. Gary McConnell said the county is one of the few in the state that has an approved school safety plan. Board member Smith Pass helped spearhead the efforts of getting a safety plan at all the schools. Pass helped start the school board's Safety Committee in 1995. "The Coweta County School System did not achieve this goal alone," said Pass. "Establishing a comprehensive school safety plan to protect Coweta County students was a collaborative community effort that utilized the insight and expertise from school personnel, emergency management, public safety and other first responders." Legislation signed by Gov. Roy Barnes in 1999 directs GEMA to provide training and technical assistance on the issues of school safety to the education, emergency management and public safety communities of Georgia. The law requires every public school in Georgia to develop and implement a wide-ranging safety plan. In addition to receiving accolades from the state, the school board also honored the school resource officers who help patrol the schools. Superintendent of Education Richard Brooks thanked the officers and said the school system is a lot safer thanks to their efforts. Pass added that the children in the schools bond with the officers and have role models to emulate.
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