The 2022 Trigg County Schools Gala of Tables offered its usual pomp and circumstance Monday morning at the cafeteria: neat decorations, a delicious breakfast, a proud superintendent in third-year veteran Bill Thorpe, and a host of new and returning employees being welcomed to the district.
But at the heart of Monday’s musings, a very serious message came from guest speakers Scott Barrow and Todd Holder — two leaders from the Kentucky Center of Safe Schools who for the last three years have served this region.
A pair of former law enforcement officers, Holder lauded Trigg County’s efforts to have three school resource officers on the campus.
Barrow noted he and Holder don’t visit schools looking to take a “got ya!” approach. Their job is to explore campuses, iterate and reiterate safe protocols with administration, and to make sure faculty and staff are maintaining consistent and thorough measures when it comes to locked doors, closed windows and protected hallways.
Barrow added that many districts across the Commonwealth are, at times, having to employ disciplinary action for teachers and other staff members who fail to recognize — or even sometimes — refuse to acknowledge these small tasks.
How many times do the main doors open to Trigg County High School? The middle school? The primary and intermediate? Barrow said that data didn’t used to be necessary, but now that kind of information is not only becoming more readily available across the Commonwealth — but is important in creating a safer school environment.
Furthermore, Barrow asked teachers and administration to pay attention to current events, particularly Uvalde, Texas.
Thorpe doled out the annual “Above and Beyond” award to Trigg County’s maintenance staff; which includes Director of Operations Matt Ladd alongside John Fuller, Scotty Hampton, Dennis Reddick and Tulsa Lewis.
Combined, those five men have 90 years of experience with Trigg County alone, and with the number of changes coming daily to the school’s topography, Thorpe noted each of these individuals does more than just the repair work on campus.
Speaking on behalf of custodians and other “behind-the-scenes” workers, Ladd gave an emotional plea to teachers and community members — adding that this calendar will be impressive, but challenging, as construction continues on a number of key projects.
Thorpe relayed an early Monday morning conversation he had with Academics Administrator Karen Solise, just before the Gala of Tables, in which sleep has lately been difficult.
More than 40 new staff members — from bus drivers to the board office — were also introduced to the community.
