Massapequa security chief outlines districtwide safety plan, cites threat-assessment team and new command center

Don Flynn, the district’s director of security, told the Massapequa Union Free School District Board of Education on June 26 that the district’s public-facing districtwide safety plan is a high-level overview that will be paired with building-level emergency response plans and ongoing staff training.

The presentation described the district approach as layered and redundant, with planning horizons of one, three and five years. Flynn said the public document “doesn’t delve deeply into how the district responds to specific emergencies,” because building-level plans and operational details are kept separate from the public plan for safety reasons. He said the district expects to post the public plan on the district website and update it as needed.

Why it matters: The district framed the plan as part of an effort to keep schools both secure and welcoming, emphasizing training, technology and behavioral intervention as complementary pieces of the safety program.

Flynn highlighted the district’s behavioral threat assessment team as a central part of prevention and intervention, crediting staff who run the team for allowing other districts to observe the program. “It's all about intervention, getting the students the help they need prior to that grievance becoming something else,” Flynn said, describing the team’s work as focused on early help rather than punishment.

Flynn also reviewed near-term training and operational steps: a tactical active-shooter exercise planned in July at an abandoned building with law‑enforcement partners, and the district’s annual eight-hour security training for staff on Aug. 27. He said the district conducts student-awareness activities that bring faculty and students together and that several professional development and demonstration events are routine components of the program.

On technology, Flynn told the board the district is expanding a command center and exploring use of analytics and artificial intelligence to turn hundreds of camera feeds into timely information for command staff. “We’re currently sitting on hundreds of videos of balanced cameras,” Flynn said, and the goal is to push selected analytic capabilities into the command center so staff can act on real-time information.

Flynn said the state’s June 3 release of a portal for filing building-level emergency plans opened later than expected; the portal became available on the morning of June 26, which delayed some planned building-level work. He said the district would continue to update building plans now that the portal is available.

Flynn said the district is preparing a short parent quick guide that explains common emergency verbiage (for example, what a lockout versus a lockdown notice means) in plain language and will distribute it before the school year begins.

Board members and administrators praised the security staff’s professionalism and partnerships with Nassau County police and homeland‑security personnel. A board member said other districts look to Massapequa’s system as a model. The board also thanked interim athletic director Marty Boyd and security staff for visible campus presence during spring and championship events.

No formal board action was requested during the presentation. The board asked staff to review and update the district’s public employer health emergency plan language cited in the presentation, and Flynn said the document is fluid and will be revised.

Acknowledgments and next steps: Flynn requested continued board support for technology and training investments and said the district will follow up with building principals to complete the building-level plans in the state portal. The board accepted the presentation and thanked security staff for “professionalism and forward thinking.”