School safety among topics as WCPSS, county commissioners meet before school starts

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- School and county leaders in Wake County met Monday night to address safety among other topics two weeks before the start of the traditional calendar year.

"The board of commissioners and the board of education share a common goal and that is to protect the community's most precious assets and that is our children and those who educate them," said Dr Clinton Robinson, chief of staff and strategic planning at Wake County Schools.

The district shared findings of a 2019 security assessment. Part of that has meant upgrading its visitor program and door-locking mechanisms.

"What are we doing from fights to fires," said Shinica Thomas, chair of the board of commissioners. "We have to make sure the buildings are safe, thinking about the rain we just had, about the floods and building security."

They addressed upgrades and enhancements made to keep students safe.

Some things were implemented last school year including the new bag policy at high school sporting events.

There is a new "Say Something" anonymous reporting app coming this year,

There are also partnerships with law enforcement including the Wake County Sheriff's Office which oversees school resource officers in 20-plus schools in the county.

"We care for the total student, total welfare of the student so I feel good about this school year and I'm confident we'll get the job done," said Willie Rowe, sheriff of Wake County.

Other things have been done including new cameras being installed and additional fencing.

There is also talk about creating a real-time security center so they can have a central command for everything happening in Wake County schools.