Jeremy Maggio, school resource officer at Jamestown High School, is pictured Wednesday.
P-J photo by Eric Tichy
The Jamestown Public Schools Board this week backed a recommendation for a districtwide “security vulnerability assessment.”
At their meeting Wednesday, board of education members heard from Jeremy Maggio, school resource officer at the high school, on Armoured One. The company sends individuals to active shooting incidents across the country and provides assessments of schools, businesses and other organizations to highlight both strengths and vulnerabilities.
“As soon as they find out that something is going on, they’re getting an airline ticket and they’re flying to that spot, or driving to that spot, to assess what had happened,” Maggio said. “How do they fix an active shooter situation or a mass-casualty situation, whether it be a school, a business, a company.”
Maggio said Armoured One had representatives at Tops Markets in Buffalo following the May 2022 mass shooting that resulted in 10 deaths.
As part of the resolution approved Wednesday by school board members, Armoured One will provide the following: a questionnaire to administrators at each building in the district; collect building floor plans; perform field evaluations and tour each school; and provide written reports that “includes good existing practices at each school, vulnerabilities, recommendations, statistics, and real-world examples. Each building will also receive a rating score.”
Maggio’s recommendation came out of recent meetings of the district’s Safety and Security Committee. A sub-committee has been reviewing school safety and security where Armoured One and its security vulnerability assessment was discussed.
“It’s not just an assessment of where our weaknesses are and what we’re doing bad, it’s also looking at the good things that are going on as well,” he said.
Dr. Kevin Whitaker, district superintendent, said the assessment will cost between $17,250 and $19,000. After the assessment is completed, a report will be given to Whitaker, the committee and the school board.
Paul Abbott, school board president, inquired how quickly Armoured One can be in Jamestown for the comprehensive review. He said it makes more sense for representatives to be around prior to summer break to witness a normal school day.
“I’m just wrestling with the time,” Abbott said. “Do it before students are sent home for the summer.”
Whitaker agreed, stating that it was important for the board to take up the resolution now after it had been brought up for discussion by the committee.
In other news:
¯ the board went over the results of Tuesday’s budget vote and vote for school board members. The $101,475,978 2023-24 budget passed by a vote of 555 to 127. A proposition to create a capital improvement reserve fund passed by a vote of 575 to 106. Regarding the three open school board seats, Abbott received 512 votes, Christine Schnars received 514, John Panebianco received 576 and Melissa Paterniti received 240.
¯ the board accepted donations of $553 for the Jane Fagerstrom Fund for Love Elementary and $357 for the Jason M. Williams Fund for Performing Arts. The donations came from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.
¯ the board accepted a donation from Tamara and Clyde Dickey for $1,000 to support the Innovation Center aviation program and workforce development.
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