Wisconsin schools, police departments review safety plans after Mount Horeb incident

WEST SALEM, Wis. (WKBT) -- Communities across Wisconsin are still reeling after Wednesday's shooting threat at the Mount Horeb School District.

Wisconsin's Attorney General Josh Kaul was scheduled to be in West Salem Thursday for a press conference on the state Department of Justice's Office of School Safety. The West Salem school district also planned to undergo behavioral and threat assessment management training.

Those events were canceled following the Mount Horeb incident.

Like most districts across the state, West Salem was on high alert Thursday. The district's Director of Buildings and Grounds Scott Johnson said there was a stronger law enforcement presence around the school campuses.

Captain Timothy O'Neill with the West Salem Police Department said law enforcement will be looking over their safety plans.

"Any of those situations like what happened yesterday, they'll make you review or reassess or take a look at how you are going to respond," he said.

The West Salem district already has a number of safety measures in place.

"We have a secured entrance in every building, our expectation is all doors are locked at all times unless they're supervised," Johnson said. "All of our visitors are required to check-in at the main office and have a badge on them."

Other area districts, like La Crosse schools, have similar measures.

There's also protocols to follow if there's an active threat on a school campus, like going into lockdown. Wisconsin mandates schools to run at least one school violence event drill every school year.

Johnson and O'Neill agree that strong community relationships are crucial to protecting school safety.

"The police department in West Salem partners with the school district in very big ways to make sure there are layered responses to school safety," O'Neill said.

He added that the West Salem P.D. trains regularly in the schools to make sure officers are prepared to respond to threats.

"In the future [we] plan to increase the intensity of that training with the school district on board, too."

Johnson said continuing funding the state's Office of School Safety and increasing funding for school districts will allow schools to be better prepared for any threat.

"We can always be better," he said.

The West Salem School District recently received a grant to hire a school social worker. Johnson said having another staff member to support students' well-being will be hugely beneficial to the district.

Talking with children about situations like the Mount Horeb incident can be difficult. You can find resources about how to have those discussions and how to support youth here .

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