West Valley school district holds active shooter training ahead of new school year

PHOENIX - As schools prepare to get back to the classroom, one district is preparing for the unexpected before school is back in session.

At West Point Elementary School in the West Valley, the Dysart Unified School District put on an active shooter training.

"It really is very valuable, especially when you consider the school campuses and the footprint of them, how different they can be with the floor plans, so getting in and seeing them first-hand, and how the hallways work, it makes the response time more effective," said Dysart Unified School District Safety Coordinator Jason Yeager.

The simulation was for current and future School Resource Officers and other staff members. While the district has had SROs in its high schools, they were also added to middle schools in 2022, due to new funding,

Yeager said the addition has been very beneficial.

"We're actually going to be adding [SROs to] at least 4 [K-8 schools] as well. We're hoping to add as many as possible," said Yeager. "They're already on campus. They're going to know where that threat is at, how to reach that threat, and eliminate it as quickly as possible."

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says there's $100 million to distribute from a school safety fund. He says any school that chooses to use the funding can add an SRO to its campus.

"We're training police that are going to be in schools. Giving them additional training," said Horne. "I've been for more police in schools to protect people's lives if a maniac comes in to do harm, and that's the main goal, is to protect lives."