While proud of the emergency response before last week’s fatal shooting at a high school, Platte Canyon district officials and local law enforcement will review and modify safety and crisis plans, Superintendent Jim Walpole said Tuesday.
“In that review, we will involve staff and parents, community members and our law enforcement agencies on how to make our school grounds as safe as possible,” he said. “Right now, steps are being taken for that safety, including the hiring of security personnel for our schools.”
Although he didn’t know how many new positions may be filled, Walpole said that “we want sufficient coverage of the grounds area” and will discuss short-term and long- term solutions with Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener.
Effective immediately, every adult who enters the school grounds must wear a name badge, and staff will step up supervision in the hallways.
Room 206 of the high school, where Duane Morrison fatally shot Emily Keyes, 16, before killing himself, will be sealed off for the rest of the year, Walpole said. Along with Wegener, Walpole led reporters on a short tour of the school to explain the floor plan, trace the evacuation route and answer questions about the response to what began as a hostage situation.
Investigators haven’t determined yet how Morrison gained access to the building, whose doors are locked except during passing periods. Walpole said he’s not aware of any adult at the school noticing Morrison as he lurked in the parking lot or approached the school.
The high school, which opened in November 2000, incorporated features encouraged after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings to enhance school safety.
For instance, the absence of lockers created wider and more orderly hallways and lessened the possibility that weapons or other illegal items could be hidden on school grounds.
Four heavy metal doors mark the entrance to the main foyer, where two staffers are stationed during passing periods.
The school also uses a “block schedule” that requires students to change classrooms less often.
But no security cameras cover the interior of the building.
“It’s something we’ve been working on the last three years,” Walpole said, “trying to find the funds to bring in cameras. You also have to have someone to monitor for safety.”
Instead of traditional classrooms, the school employs “learning centers” that open onto computer centers. Within its second-floor learning center, Room 206 had a single, solid door that could be entered from the computer area.
One corner of the roughly square classroom is cut diagonally by a picture window that overlooks the first-floor library.
Morrison, 53, never approached the window and the configuration of the room did not allow officers to find a clear sight line to the killer.
“With the angles,” Wegener said, “we just could not get … a good shot.”
On Tuesday, a ladder reached from the library to the window. In the cafeteria, plastic bags filled with students’ belongings waited to be claimed between 8 and 11 a.m. today.
Meanwhile, mental health workers and extra substitute teachers will be on hand as school reopens Thursday.
Prior to the start of the school year, Walpole said, a “mock shooter” came through the Canyon Room during a training exercise for the staff conducted by the Sheriff’s Office.
Safety plans before the shooting were regularly reviewed by school officials and the sheriff’s and fire departments.
Walpole said the crisis plan saved many lives.
“Obviously we have failed in that we have lost a student,” he said. “But we feel good in that we had many students that did survive. We will never forget Emily and what happened here last week. While we continue to mourn, we are turning our focus to healing and providing a safe, caring and educational environment to our students.”
Staff writer Kevin Simpson can be reached at 303-954-1739 or ksimpson@denverpost.com.
