HOULTON, Maine — How would a local school district handle an active shooter situation if one were ever to occur in Aroostook County?
That was the question posed to members of the RSU 29 school board Monday evening as the group was asked to endorse an updated Emergency Management Plan.
“The emergency plan has been in the district for several years, and there is a yearly review,” said Joe Fagnant, director of operations for RSU 29. “The plan covers the health, wellness and safety of students and staff under various scenarios. The majority of the plan comes from FEMA-related information which involves law enforcement and emergency services.”
Precise details of the Emergency Management Plan were kept confidential, even from board members, during Monday night’s meeting. The reason for this is simple, according to Superintendent Richard Lyons. The district does not want to tip its hand on where and how students will be evacuated in the event of a crisis situation.
“Because of the peculiarities and preciseness of our plan, it must remain confidential,” Lyons said.
School board members who wish to view the district’s plan are allowed to review the master plan at the superintendent’s office, provided the details are kept confidential.
Fagnant said that in June 2022, all Aroostook County law enforcement agencies, fire departments, first responders, Border Patrol and school representatives discussed countywide training for consistency in responding to school-related emergencies under the direction of Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency led by Darren Woods. Follow-up will be coming from EMA.
The goal is to have a centralized plan of action so that law enforcement agencies will not have to guess how the various school districts in Aroostook will handle these threats.
The Maine Legislature approved LD 429 in July 2021 to include health care officials (crisis interventionists) in all school emergency plans.
“The main thing we did was take our prior plans and adjust the format to fit (the new guidelines),” Fagnant said. “We also inserted the A.L.I.C.E. training model, which is the model we use in this district for incidents, including active shooters.”
For RSU 29, a 16-member safety committee was created that included teachers, administration and health care officials. The group also collaborated with Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca and Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone.
The approved document will be sent to the Maine Department of Education for review.
In other business, the school board agreed to raise the amount it pays its substitute teachers to $105 per day, instead of the current rate of $85 per day for people not certified by the DOE and $95 per day for those with certifications. Starting Jan. 1, there will be simply one rate of pay for all substitute teachers.
