By Marc Kovac
Daily Record
COLUMBUS — More than 150 schools across the state have failed to submit required safety plans and building blueprints to state officials, for use by emergency responders dealing with shootings and other incidents, Attorney General Mike DeWine told an audience in Columbus Tuesday.
“I just wouldn’t want to be a superintendent, or I would not want to be a principal or a school board member and explain to the public in my district why I had not filed this information so law enforcement can access it if there ever is a tragedy in my school,” DeWine said. “I don’t understand it. I think it’s outrageous, and I think the public ought to demand that these superintendents demand the school boards file these with the attorney general’s office.”
DeWine made the comments in Columbus during the 2012 Ohio Safe Schools Summit, a gathering of representatives from schools, law enforcement and other agencies to discuss ways to protect students from violence and drug abuse.
State schools Superintendent Stan Heffner, citing federal statistics, said 116 students were killed in 109 separate school shooting incidents between 1992 and 2006. Gov. John Kasich pushed for Tuesday’s summit in part in response to a shooting earlier this year at Chardon High School.
Kasich urged other districts to follow Chardon’s lead. The district was “very conscious about security” and, prior to the February incident, had played host to an emergency simulation to ensure it was ready to respond to shootings or other tragedies.
“We can’t fix all the evil, but we can do the best job we can to the best of our consciences to plan as best we can,” Kasich said. “And then when you do that, people understand they did the best that they could possibly do. ... Did we do everything that was reasonable, everything that a mother or father would expect?”
Under state law, districts are required to file building blueprints and safety plans with the attorney general’s office, updating the information every few years or as new buildings are constructed. The information is not public record but is stored electronically and available to law enforcement as needed.
“If there is a fire or a tragedy, a shooting or something, and the first responder is going out there ... they can literally call that right up,” DeWine said. “They can get that on their screen. They can see what the school looks like, they can see where the exits are ... they can see anything they need to know.”
DeWine’s office began reviewing the plans following a school shooting in Chardon that left several students dead and others injured. State officials sent certified letters to schools that have failed to file their plans.
Still, at least 150 and likely more have not followed through, DeWine said, noting that there are no penalties outlined in state law for failing to comply. The list included Buckeye Intermediate Elementary in Medina, according to the attorney general’s office.
“I can’t believe any school district in the state doesn’t have a plan,” DeWine said. “I can’t believe any school district in the state can’t get a hold of some blueprint or something of their school.”
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