Stissing Mountain receives high marks from state police

PINE PLAINS — State Police Captain Scott Brown gave high marks to the Pine Plains Central School District in a report summarizing a safety and security audit of the Stissing Mountain Middle/High School.The safety audit followed a highly publicized incident in November 2009 in which a man entered the school building with a shotgun and held the middle school principal at gunpoint for several hours. Members from both the New York State Police as well as the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office conducted a security assessment of the building at the school district’s request.“A lot of schools have come to us asking for assessments,” Brown said, “but 10 times as many have not.”The assessment involved three main areas: interviews with teachers, staff and students; policy and procedure development; and the physical security of the building.The schools’ policies and procedures presented “absolutely no problems” in Brown’s view. He said that the building’s single-point entry policy, implemented after the events of Nov. 9 was a “great idea.”He also said certain programs and steps taken toward addressing bullying and violence were to be commended as well.As far as the physical security of the structure, Brown said that he made several rounds of the building. During those excursions he said he never found a door unlocked or a security breach.Several small suggestions Brown recommended included “mixing up” security drill tests conducted during the year, issuing substitute teachers identification cards, putting hallway monitors on duty during random hours and possibly installing an exterior PA system. But, Brown qualified, these suggestions were not mandates and enacting them was purely up to the district’s discretion. There was only one instance in which Brown pointed out that improvement was needed. There is a gap of time between when the front doors are unlocked in the morning and when the greeter arrives. There is also a gap between when school is let out in the afternoon and when the doors are locked for the night. During those times Brown said there is inadequate monitoring of who goes in and out of the building.Brown said that the issue had been brought up multiple times during interviews with staff and students. Approximately 30 people were interviewed during the security assessment.“I think you folks are ahead of the curve,” he told the board and administration. “But there is always room for improvement and the greeter’s hours I think need attention.”