WILMINGTON — Recent events nationally, as well as a series of threats made at schools in the region, brought leaders across New Hanover County together Thursday for a conversation on school safety, and the lesser-talked-about subject of mental health.
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Woody White brought several members of staff from different departments together for the discussion including: New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon, NHCS Board of Education Chairman Ed Higgins, NHCS Superintendent Tim Markley, Chief District Court Judge J.H. Corpening, County Manager Chris Coudriet, Community Justice Services Director Kathy Stoute, Public Health Director Phillip Tarte, and Assistant Director of Social Work Services Wanda Marino.
School safety already in place
When it comes to protecting the students of New Hanover County, the student resource officer program is the first line of defense. But the officers assigned to schools play a greater role than simply acting as defenders, these officers play an important role in building relationships with the students, McMahon said.
These relationships could play a factor in preventing future tragedies, he said, and in order to help build them, SROs must become active in the communities they serve.
Mental health
While keeping students safe with SROs and school hardening systems, like door locks, is important, mental health for the youth in New Hanover County is equally important, but often less discussed.
Currently, there are 13 mental health specialists in the school system, according to County Manager Chris Coudriet. There are also resources that are available through social services as well as through Trillium Behavioral Health. But the mental health system is often difficult to navigate.
Corpening has seen a number of the cases surrounding school students said he believes that officials can harden schools as much as they want, until the focus is on taking care of what is inside of the walls, nothing will change.
The idea of providing some sort of mental health training for all school employees — from teachers to custodians — was suggested. More awareness to student’s mental health could help prevent a future tragedy, some officials believe.
The concept of, “If you see something, say something,” was also a repeated concept, with many people unsure of who or what to report to which department. Abusive home lives of students, or traumatic situations often go unreported for many reasons, but law enforcement and social services should always be involved.
No decisions were made during the meeting, but it gave county staff a sense of where leaders want to focus efforts. The meeting was not a public hearing, the media as well as the public were invited to attend and observe.
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