How 1 Illinois School District Saves $200,000 a Year
East Aurora School District 131 uses in-house staff and partnerships to keep costs under control.
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Community partnerships can save a school district time as well as money. Garcia claims that his constant contact with city departments and other agencies has given him the power to pick up the phone and have instant access to assistance when it comes to school security. This works so well, he says, because each party has the same goal: safety.
In fact, district employees (maintenance staff, teachers, custodians and even school principals) receive National Incident Management System (NIMS) training in level 700, 200, and 100 courses at no cost to the district from the city of Aurora each year through the city’s partnership with RETA Security, an independent security firm in Illinois.
Training and Emergency Planning Help Districts Seek Grants
Being NIMS compliant has helped the district apply for grants – an important source of funding when it comes to school safety. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grant is a federal grant offered by the U.S. Department of Education to assist in the development and sustainability of emergency plans for school districts. To seek out such a grant, a district must have a clear idea of what emergency preparedness activities are important to implement.
Garcia understands this and has developed specific emergency plans with the guidance of the local police and fire departments. His work to obtain a REMS grant will also put his district in the position to apply for an array of other grants that also look to a district’s ability to form advantageous partnerships in their communities.
“When we’re done with this REMS grant, what we’re looking to do is apply again for the second phase,” explains Garcia. “For the second phase, we’d like to do a full blown tabletop exercise. This is where you have an active shooter; someone has been shot, and you have first responders, the ambulance, fire department, etc… all responding to the shooting, the whole enchilada basically. We are getting support from everyone to move forward with this type of scenario because the more you practice it, the easier it becomes to respond to an emergency situation.”
As Garcia has discovered, anticipating emergencies before they happen has both safety and cost benefits. Tabletop exercises will prepare all stakeholders (staff, students, administrations, police, fire, parents, etc.), for any emergency situation on school grounds, and also attract funding.
So how is he able to do all of this? Garcia attributes his success to his passion for school safety and security. He also works as hard as if the children he is responsible for protecting are his own.
“When I’m making changes here [in the district], I’m making sure that if my children were at that building, my children would be well taken care of,” explains Garcia. “I ask, ‘Have we done everything to prevent anyone from harming our children?’”
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