Springfield, IL  (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – After a fight at Lanphier High School on Wednesday left two school administrators injured and six students arrested, District 186 is grappling with how to combat school violence.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Jennifer Gill outlined some of the security enhancements implemented over the past five years, including metal detectors at middle and high schools, upgraded security cameras, secured school entrances, emergency response badges, increased security personnel, and other measures to protect against external threats.

Board President Micah Miller said the district’s hands are somewhat tied when it comes to expelling students with an Individualized Education Plan and even general education students thanks to stipulations in Senate Bill 100. “I appreciate it was focused on reducing the student to prison pipeline, which is a real thing, but it has lost track of some of the stability in our classrooms.”

Miller asked Gill to spend an extended amount of time working at Lanphier High School in order to see what is and isn’t working.

“We’ve spent hundreds of millions of well-spent tax dollars on providing 21st century educational opportunities, but it is overshadowed if staff and families don’t feel safe inside their own schools,” said Aaron Graves, president of the teacher’s union – the Springfield Education Association.

Board Vice President Erica Austin spoke about responsibility. “The onus is not all on the superintendent. The onus is on all of us in this room and in the community. It takes a village.”

Patty Purdy, a teacher and parent of two children who were assaulted at school, said it is not just a Lanphier issue, but a district issue. “I understand the frustration.  I understand the urgency, but placing blame solely on one person or one board ignores the larger reality.” Purdy said schools are a reflection of the community around them. If we want real change, she said, we have to not ask what the district will do, but instead what will we all do.

With 22 years of teaching experience in District 186, Nicolette Harris said, “Instead of demanding, ‘What are you going to do?’ we should be asking, ‘What are we, as a Springfield community, going to do now?'”

 

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