Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
San Bernardino school district looks forward to improve emergency response
Listen
• 0:50
This list of issues came from a debrief session with school principals. It helped start off conversations at the community forum.
(
Priska Neely
)
More than 100 people -- teachers, parents, police officers, even IT workers -- attended a meeting convened by the San Bernadino Unified School District to debrief on its response to the Dec. 2 shooting.
Superintendent Dale Marsden said the goal of the "after-action review" was to give the community a chance present issues without judgment and determine what could be better.
"It's these kind of activities that help us to become better," said Marsden. "Our goal in the district is to be the best at becoming better."
During the meeting, attendees sat at tables sharing stories from the day of the shooting.
Support for LAist comes from
Alba Lizbeth Barraza, the secretary at Dominguez Elementary School, shared her experience. The school is less than two miles from the site of the shooting at the Inland Regional Center. The shootout with the gunmen happened right behind the school.
The small groups were tasked with coming up with streamlined recommendations to present to the group. Barraza shared on behalf of her table.
"Our children and staff heard and saw every police car that went by there," she said, holding back tears.
Despite the proximity to the scene, Barraza said the school was told by the district not to go on lockdown at first. But with all of the commotion, the school administration made the decision to do so anyway. Barraza urged the district to be more responsive when a school is so close to a dangerous scene.
The district is taking note of each issue to improve systems going forward and to ensure the highest level of safety during emergencies.
"We’re hoping that we never have to use this again," said SBUSD deputy superintendent Harold Vollkommer, "but if we should be faced with that again we want to be better at it."
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago. -
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
Best of LAist