Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

The Brighton Area Schools is one of the top school districts in the state — if not the country — when it comes to its security measures. That assessment comes from the director of a security firm the district hired earlier this year to assess Brighton's security measures and protocols that are in place.

Jason Russell, the founder and president of Secure Environmental Consultants of Grand Rapids, appeared before the Board of Education at its meeting last week and had nothing but good things to say. “We were very impressed with the work that Brighton has done and continues to do,” said Russell, who is a former Secret Service agent.

As part of its $18,000 contract with the district, which was paid for by a grant, the company’s reprepresentives toured all district buildings. In making its assessment, the firm reviewed physical security policies and procedures and interviewed stakeholders at every level. “Our consultant told us this is probably the best district that he assessed in the state,” Russell told the board. He added, “There are areas for improvement, but they are very minor, so that is a huge testament to all the work that has been done.”

Russell said that while school districts with problems in the security area are reluctant about being assessed, “Districts like Brighton tend to be more open and let outsiders come in.” He did say that
a couple areas the district could work on are "consistency across the district, “ which Russell called a “universal thing,” and "communications between the schools."

Board Trustee Andy Storm asked Russell what are the “takeaways” out of the Oxford tragedy from which Brighton could learn, and he responded that the district can make “behavioral threat assessments.” Russell said, “This is one of the few districts where we didn’t have a single behavioral threat assessment process finding.”

The Brighton Area Schools has a Safety Security Advisory Team - a committee composed of administrators, police liaison officers and members of the community at large, which meets once per month to review safety protocols and steps which are already in place and continue to be fine-tuned to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Photo #1: SEC President Jason Russell