One day after 17 students and teachers were gunned down in a Florida high school, several metro area school districts are offering support and sympathy.
Omaha Public Schools“Omaha Public Schools stands with Broward County Public Schools during this very difficult time. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their family members, the entire school district and the Broward County community.
"OPS has invested a significant amount of resources into fire, life and security upgrades throughout the past several years. We thank Omaha taxpayers for the support of many of those upgrades, which came out of the 2014 bond program.
"The safety of our staff and students is paramount. For security purposes, we cannot share the details of our plans. However, we want to express our sincere appreciation for the close working relationship we share with our partners in local law enforcement here in the metro, particularly the Omaha Police Department, Bellevue Police Department and the Douglas County Sherriff’s Office.
"In addition, OPS consistently evaluates the tools we use to monitor situations to ensure we are doing everything within our control to keep our students and staff members safe.”
Papillion-La Vista"Papillion La Vista Community Schools extends our deepest sympathy to Broward County Public Schools. This is an unimaginable tragedy and a senseless loss of innocent lives. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, the staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the entire community of Parkland.
"At Papillion La Vista Community Schools, we take very serious the responsibility of keeping our children safe when they come to school each morning. We want our parents and community to know that safety and security of our staff and students remains a top priority. We are very fortunate to have local law enforcement agencies that are trailblazers in establishing a standard response protocol and partnering with the schools on school safety.
"We will continue to review and revise our safety protocol and make certain we are doing everything possible to try and prevent a tragedy like this from happening again."
Westside"All of us here at Westside Community Schools are sickened and saddened by the events that took place Wednesday in Florida. No child or teacher should be afraid of going to school. The students, families, staff members, law enforcement and community of Parkland are in our thoughts.
"We are grateful for our community, who supported the bond issue in 2015 allowing us to upgrade security at many of our buildings. Our District worked throughout the summer to detail emergency plans for Westside Community Schools, and we will continue to meet and discuss what we can and should to do ensure safety at all times. Our administrators, staff members, and school resource officers continue to work together to ensure safety and security are top priorities in all of our buildings."
Millard Public Schools"There are no easy answers to this ongoing national tragedy. We know schools do everything they can, and here in Millard, we are grateful for our community who supported a bond issue in 2013 that allowed us to upgrade security. School safety is a matter we keep at the front of our attention at all times."