NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Halvonik 717 787-1381

Auditor General Jack Wagner Says Survey Indicates
Most Public School Entities Have Safety Plans
that Lack Critical Elements

HARRISBURG (May 23, 2007) – Auditor General Jack Wagner said today that his preliminary review of one-half of responses to a survey sent in early February to all 722 of Pennsylvania’s public school districts, intermediate units, vocational-technical schools, charter schools, and cyber charter schools (“public school entities”) showed that most reported having school safety plans, but that they lack critical elements.

For example:

• 42 percent of Local Educational Agencies (public school districts, intermediate units and vocational-technical schools) do not have plans with a school visitation policy and a policy for student, staff and visitor identification.
• 56 percent of LEAs and 36 percent of charter/cyber charter schools do not have plans calling for single entry points for students, staff and visitors at all school buildings.
• 60 percent of LEAs and 40 percent of charter/cyber charter schools do not have single exit points in their school buildings.

Many of these measures are recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Most LEAs also report that their plans do not have procedures for sharing the school safety plans with school employees and emergency personnel and for providing parents with needed emergency response information.

“In the wake of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech and with a number of important legislative initiatives aimed at tightening school security pending before the General Assembly, it is critical that this department share some important preliminary information we obtained through our survey results. This is all the more imperative in light of the fact that according to the National School Safety Center, Pennsylvania ranked third in the nation for the number of school associated violent deaths in public and private schools from 1992 through February 2007,” Wagner said. Wagner went on to say that, “We in state government must make sure that school safety plans are manageable working documents that are routinely tested and evaluated. Moreover, we must make sure that facility security features
and other safety measures are adopted and implemented.”

Wagner, who has the authority to audit all schools that receive state money, shared his findings in a letter sent to Governor Rendell on Friday. The preliminary findings were based on one-half of the survey responses recorded by the department to date.

Wagner said the survey response rate was 69 percent, “which far surpassed our expectations.’’ “The response rate is a testament to the fact that our top school administrators place a great deal of importance on the issue of school safety and want to have their voices heard,” Wagner said in his letter to Rendell.

Furthermore, approximately 100 of responding public school entities recorded by the department to date took the time to provide additional comments. Many commenting public school entities indicated a desire to be given more guidance and information on model school safety planning and security measures. Moreover, a number of public school entities wrote that they intend to use the department’s survey questions as guidance in developing a comprehensive plan.

“An analysis of one-half of survey respondents from all regions of the state indicated that, while most public school entities have school safety plans, a majority do not effectively communicate them,” Wagner said. More than 50 percent of responding LEAs said they do not have school safety plans with procedures for the distribution of their plans to staff and emergency first responders and for providing parents with information that they would need in the event of an emergency.

The survey responses also indicate that most public school entities lack training programs ranging from handling crisis/emergency situations to handling at-risk students. Most notably, 48 percent of LEAs and 38 percent of charter/cyber charter schools said they did not provide training to all staff and faculty for handling situations involving the possession of weapons on school property.

The survey also found that 25 percent of LEAs do not have a memorandum of understanding (“MOUs”) with local police for the reporting of violent incidents on school property, even though they are required by state law to do so. This requirement does not currently apply to charter/cyber charter schools.

Wagner encouraged the Governor, the Department of Education, the General Assembly, the schools and others to work together to improve school safety.

“Our children are our greatest asset and we must do all that we can to make sure we provide them with safe and secure learning environments,” Wagner said.

Auditor General Jack Wagner is responsible for ensuring that all state money is spent legally and properly. He is the Commonwealth’s elected independent fiscal watchdog, conducting financial audits, performance audits and special investigations. The Department of the Auditor General conducts approximately 5,000 audits per year. To learn more about the Department of the Auditor General, taxpayers are encouraged to visit the department’s Web site at www.auditorgen.state.pa.us