George and I just had this discussion. Anybody have any ideas? For example, where was this plan before Wednesday? If you’re going to try and improve the academic performance of students in the CMSD don’t you first need to ensure their safety? How can a kid learn if he/she knows their safety is in danger while they are at school?

Dan Burns, Sanders’ chief operating officer, crafted the plan in the wake of Wednesday’s shootings at SuccessTech Academy.

Kudos to Regina Brett. At least she called our leadership, or lack of, into question today.

Security plan for Cleveland schools - cleveland.com

So now they start communicating after 4 are injured and the shooter is dead. They didn’t include the incident Friday that happened outside Max Hayes High School after school let out. I guess because “it wasn’t on school grounds”…it happened behind a vacant gas station adjacent to school grounds.

Wednesday’s shooting spree at SuccessTech Academy was the bloody climax to a week’s worth of gun-toting incidents across the Cleveland school district.

Oct. 3: A Margaret Ireland School student was arrested after school security officers found a loaded .25-caliber handgun with a six-shell clip in his book bag. The boy told officers he paid $25 for the weapon and carries it for protection. He was arrested after a gang fight involving nearly three dozen students, according to school security reports.

Cleveland police arrested the mother of a 15-year-old Genesis High School student who came to the school with a loaded .22-caliber gun, according to police reports. The woman told police her son had been jumped by students at school and called his mother on his cell phone. She brought the gun and confronted the attackers outside, who then scattered.

Monday: Security officers found a semiautomatic rifle, a scope and 43 rounds of ammunition in a duffel bag belonging to a 17-year-old special education student at Max S. Hayes Vocational School. The boy said he didn’t know how the gun got there.

Tuesday: A student brought a high-caliber, semiautomatic handgun to Michael R. White K-8 School.

Wednesday: The same day as the SuccessTech shooting, security officers confiscated a .38-caliber handgun from an East Technical High School student.

Last school year: Districtwide, there were 304 incidents involving possession of dangerous weapons such as guns and knives. Assaults on security guards nearly doubled from the previous year. At SuccessTech, there were just nine incidents.

Cleveland schools record several gun incidents - cleveland.com

I’m sick to my stomach right now because the shooting today at Success Tech High School didn’t need to happen for two reasons.

First, student safety should have been a priority over uniforms and it was obviously not. Second, last Friday and Monday there were incidents involving guns carried by students at Max Hayes High School. Friday a gun was shot off three times outside right after school let out during an altercation between students. Monday a rifle was discovered in a student gym bag with several rounds of ammo (this was confirmed to me yesterday by Channel 19 News who reviewed the police report).

Four people have been shot at Success Tech High School at 1440 Lakeside Avenue in Cleveland.

The shooter is dead.

The victims were two men ages 57 and 42; and two boys ages 17 and 14. A 14-year-old girl hurt her knee leaving the building but was not shot.

All the children are in good condition and the two adults’ conditions were “slightly elevated,” according to Mayor Frank Jackson. The mayor and schools CEO Eugene Sanders came to the school and have been giving brief updates to the media.

Early reports were that the shooter was 14 and was in custody. Officials would not answer questions about the suspect.

After it was obvious that the School District was not communicating the details of these incidents to parents and staff I called both the Plain Dealer and Channel 19 News. I spoke directly with the Education Editor at the Plain Dealer on Monday. I also spoke with a reporter at Channel 19 news Monday and yesterday to warn them both that something was seriously wrong with how these incidents were being handled.

After Virginia Tech I couldn’t believe the Cleveland Municipal School District did not institute a communications plan or use mobile metal detectors the morning after any confiscation of guns as part of overall measures. It is my understanding that the Cleveland Heights School System at least has a communications plan in place regarding incidents that happen that threaten student and staff safety.

It is also my understanding that there have been several other guns in schools incidents since the beginning of the school year that the CMSD has essentially enacted a hush policy about. The result of this inaction is that staff and parents have not been provided with the critical information needed to allow themselves to makes decisions about the safety of themselves and their children.

Because of this inaction it is obvious that both Mayor Jackson and Eugene Sanders should be held accountable for the death and injuries that occurred today. Both the lack of communications and any plan and the resulting injuries and loss of life are the direct result of a complete lack of competent leadership. When you are a leader and you can not ensure the safety of those you are responsible for you are then responsible for communicating with them when their safety is at risk.

Multiple people shot at Cleveland high school; shooter dead - Cleveland’s Top Story from The Plain Dealer

P.S. I regret that I didn’t post here at BFD about the problems at Max Hayes Friday and Monday to at least offer a warning. I had a feeling in my gut something bad was about to happen.

P.P.S. Methinks we should redirect the .25 cents county sales tax increase toward making our schools and streets safer. That would do more for economic development than a Medical Mart (and I did a post here this past July 25th about an article that highlights how improving basic infrastructure is how successful cities grow).

Probably because it’s the peak of the effort and afterwards it’s all downhill:

Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Youngstown) and Jason Altmire (D-Pittsburgh) today hosted about 100 hundred civic, government and business leaders from Northeast Ohio and Southwest Pennsylvania to discuss increasing economic connections among the two regions. The point of the session was to emphasize that the state border is an artificial boundary that shouldn’t keep our two communities from collaborating to spur economic development. They dubbed the region between Pittsburgh and Cleveland as the “Tech Belt…”

Right. It was dubbed the tech belt a long time ago. Sorry if I’m not all excited about 100 of the regions “civic, government and business leaders” getting together for hand-shaking and back-slapping (even if it is Tim Ryan). This sort of thing happens all the time, and the results… well, still remain to be seen. I’d be more encouraged to see someone other the bureaucrats and administrators doing something as opposed to getting together to listen to keynote speakers.

Building the Pittsburgh-Cleveland Tech Belt | Advance Northeast Ohio

Would that Cleveland’s mayor did the same:

Mr. Skolnick identified changes instituted or proposed with the Human Relations Commission, the Park & Recreation Commission, and the Human Resources Department within the City of Youngstown. What Mr. Skolnick failed to communicate in detail, were the very serious problems surrounding each of the agencies that have existed for many years.

While I may only be completing my second year as the Mayor, I have worked in city government much longer. During that time I have clearly seen the severe problems that exist when boards, commissions, or agencies, are allowed to operate without appropriate oversight by the citizens and the officials that they elect. Often, the citizens have no idea of who the persons on those boards are, how they got there, or what their duties and responsibilities are.

Every reasonable citizen that I have spoken with about this issue agrees that no public body should operate with virtual impunity.

Mayor Jay Williams