Staff describes Highway 79 incident and orders service window at Dover Elementary for added safety

A staff member described coordination with law enforcement during an incident on Highway 79 and said schools enacted a "soft lockdown" (keeping students indoors and canceling outdoor activities) while officials assessed the situation.

The staff member said the person encountered during the response was not judged to be a threat to either school and that district leaders opted for a measured response to avoid causing alarm: "If it would have been a threat to either school, we would have ramped it up," the staff member said.

Separately, the staff member said the district has ordered a service window for Dover Elementary so office staff can hand clipboards through the window and avoid opening the exterior door to admit parents: "We're putting a service window in there so that they can stick the clipboard through the window and they don't have to actually open the door," the speaker said, adding that the change was requested by a board member and has been approved.

No emergency or ongoing threat was reported at the end of the work session; staff said the window order was in process and that the district would continue to prioritize safety procedures and training.