School board hears Safe Schools report showing declines in Baker Act calls and threat assessments

Miss Tatum, representing the district's Safe Schools office, told the Columbia County School Board that the district’s safety metrics largely trended downward this quarter and thanked administrators for their work. "DOE has made 4 official visits to us this quarter, and all schools have passed," she said, and added that none of those visits produced compliance issues.

Tatum reported 19 Baker Act incidents this quarter — "1 is a repeat, so truly 18 Baker Acts from school based" — down from 23 at the same time last year. She said the district completed 43 threat assessments to date, compared with 58 last year, and logged 172 mental‑health referrals, of which 37 students are actively receiving counseling.

On training and infrastructure, Tatum said 827 district staff — about 86% — have completed required youth mental health first aid training (state mandatory is 80%). She described a completed hardening grant process that yielded a $100,000 allocation for site security upgrades such as fencing, lighting and cameras, and said the district contracted with Critical Response Group for detailed digital maps of school campuses to aid emergency responders.

Board members asked about remaining needs; Tatum said principals continue to identify and prioritize needs, and that funding remains the primary constraint. "We always need money to fulfill those," she said, and offered to brief board members further if they wanted additional detail.

The presentation concluded with the board thanking Tatum and her office for the report and ongoing safety work. The board did not take formal action as part of this presentation.