LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The School Safety Task Force was formed after the Oxford High school shooting that took the lives of four students last winter.
The Task Force issued some preliminary recommendations, but gun control is not being emphasized.
It’s been five months since a student at Oxford high school in Oakland County went and allegedly shot and killed four of his classmates and injured others.
Republican dairy farmer-turned-lawmaker Luke Meerman is one of the co-chairs of the School Safety Task Force, which recently issued a preliminary report on what schools need.
Needless to say, more mental health services are high on the list.
“One of the reasons I’m there is I’ve had a mental health focus for more than a year,” said Meerman. “Many of these kids are really suffering and we need to find them and help them before this occurs.”
The committee looked at what Oxford school officials did, as there was criticism that administrators had a chance to stop the shooter but did not.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the student what was apprehended,” said Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Thorne. “He was called up to the office. no discipline was warranted.”
The House Committee took public comments that gun controls were needed
Meerman reports the issue is being discussed but believes the Committee should be tackling issues that are more feasible.
“What the committee needs to do is to do things that can get done and I think that’s one of those things that would be really hard to get,” continued Meerman.
The committee wants schools to provide lockdown kits with emergency supplies for students, additionally calling for better communication between schools and local law enforcement.
It’s one thing to harden the schools to prevent a shooter from entering, but the committee wants more training for school safety officers and staff inside of schools.
