OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) – Keeping students and staff safe is a top priority for the Ocean Springs School District.
Director of Operations, Brooks McKay, says over the past few years, the district has put a huge focus on safety. And this year, they’re taking it a step further to fall in line with the state’s new school safety law, which requires active shooter drills for staff as well as students.
The district has also spent more than a million dollars on physical safety feature, like new safety foyers at every school campus. It serves as one of the first lines of defense, requiring visitors to use a call box to talk to the receptionist to be buzzed into the safety foyer. Once inside, the receptionist can determine whether to let the visitor go any further.
Upgrades also include these Citizen Aid Stations, installed in every classroom and bus to use during a school shooting.
“If that unfortunate situation ever happened, we would have the things that we need to stop the bleeding and hopefully save lives,” said McKay.
McKay says the changes are all to create a safe environment, so students can focus on learning.
