The primary duty of the Gasconade County School District is to keep the lives of our children and grandchildren entrusted to their care in a protected and safe environment. Potential violent weather events and violent people endanger the student and staff members of the district. Unfortunately the current plan proposed to the voters on the 7 April election ballot does little or nothing to correct the current district vulnerabilities.
Not one of our four schools has a FEMA* approved tornado or shelter in place structure. A multi-use building of sufficient capacity is badly needed for each of these schools. Why hasn’t this threat and requirement been addressed years ago? The future of our town and our county would forever be scarred by a mass casualty event caused by a tornado strike or terrorist attack, when this previous neglect could be easily corrected.
Another unresolved threat is the lack of adequate R2 employees to protect and police the four separate schools in the district. The single R2 police trained “Resource Officer” is apparently well qualified and competent, but the task of responding to the many school activities and athletic events in so many different times and locations is impossible. Give the man some backup!
My long years of military service have made me painfully aware of violent threats that exist and sometimes go unanswered. I have now been a resident of the district for 29 years and have supported many of the schools and athletic facility improvements, but until these security needs are addressed I will be voting “NO” for this proposition or any future initiatives.
Lt. Col. Michael J. Rooney, USAF (Ret.)
*Federal Emergency Management Agency
