SVVSD shoots down gun storage suggestion

In a surprise announcement on Sept 10, St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) Superintendent Dr. Don Haddad informed those attending the school year’s first community meeting at Niwot High School (NHS) that the district has decided not to store an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the school as proposed by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department.

The sheriff’s proposal earlier this year was described as a way to allow school resource officers quicker access to a long range rifle to compensate for longer emergency response times to Niwot and Lyons high schools. AR-15s are stored in each resource officer’s car on campus and the officers carry handguns.

The gun storage proposal earlier this year led SVVSD to solicit input from the community at two forums in June. At the close of those meetings, the impression was that the discussions would be continued at beginning of this school year.

“We heard a lot of feedback and among the feedback we heard, ‘Can we add police officers instead of putting an AR-15 in a safe?’, ‘Can we add counselors instead?’, ’Can we add more mental health support to try to approach this from a preventative standpoint?,‘ and I think we heard you,” Haddad said. “I think the general consensus at this point from our board is to put the AR-15 rifle storage on hold. So we’re not going to pursue that right now.”

Instead Haddad said the district has contracted with the sheriff’s department to immediately add a shared school resource officer to cover Niwot and Lyons high schools. They’ve also added another mental health counselor to each high school.

Haddad said that district-wide, they are planning on doubling up resource officers. The plan also includes phasing in a school resource officer at every middle school, as well as shoring up counseling staff.

Bob Smith, SVVSD school board president said, “When law enforcement comes to you with a recommendation, it’s very difficult not to listen. We gave it very careful consideration, as you would appreciate, with all the community input we had at both ends of the spectrum. But, I think that the systematic, holistic approach that the district is taking is the best approach. And I think we’re pretty comfortable with that as a board.”

On other topics, Haddad spoke about the importance of public education, noting that 90 percent of children attend public schools and what they bring to the future of the country is based on their experiences in those institutions. He introduced a video produced by the school district (posted on http://www.SVVSD.org) delivering that message.

In a presentation of the strategic priorities for the district, Haddad said, “I believe we are the strongest in terms of financial strength over any school district in Colorado It enables us to stay focused and moving forward with programs.”

Two mill levy overrides bring in $44 million more than the state of Colorado provides, Haddad said, and that amount will be bumped up to $47 million in the next two years. Bond initiatives passed in 2008 (for $189 million) and in 2016 (for $260 million), along with the mill levies provide funding for building renovations, as well as the ability to hire more staff, keeping student to teacher ratios reasonable.

Regarding technology, Haddad said “Absolutely, we are well beyond the overwhelming majority of school districts. All of our environments are wireless, we have laptops, document cameras, sound systems, Chromebooks, and a one-to-one initiative with Apple where all of our students are receiving the most recent iPad.”

Haddad said the technology team, in partnership with the district’s curriculum team, was recognized in Washington, DC “as the top team in the nation for K through 12 education.”

He also took the opportunity to expound on the academic options within the district, including the high number of advanced placement classes, the International Baccalaureate programs at Sunset Middle School and Niwot High School, and other schools whose academic emphases are in leadership, energy, aerospace and biomedical.