SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The Seminole County School Board is working to prevent the same chaos that happened after the unannounced Code Red Drill at Lake Brantley nearly two weeks ago.
- School board wants to prevent any chaos during code red drills
- Unannounced Code Red Drill at Lake Brantley High caused unexpected panic
It was discussed at a board meeting Tuesday night.
SCPS School Safety and Security Director Captain Rick Francis informed the school board that prior to last Thursday at Lake Brantley, the district has performed 600 announced and unannounced safety drills since the 2013-2014 school year, and all were performed without incident.
“Our intentions with these drills is to ensure the school is prepared for the incident … and operate their emergency plans … not to create fear or anxiety,” Francis said.
According to Francis, the following sequence of events happened early December:
- 10:20 a.m. an unannounced scenario began.
- 10:21 a.m. A member of LBHS activated their Rave soft panic button.
- 10:33 a.m. an all clear was given followed
- 10:44 a.m. all clear given to law enforcement.
But one full hour after the drill was over was where the confusion began.
“At 11:20, an announcement was made over the intercom during the lunch time that used some key words that caused an incident,” Francis said.
“In the moment it was insane I was about to eat lunch, and then I look outside, and I see everyone running … all we heard is code red,” Lake Brantley High School student Anabelle Santiago explained.
Moving forward, the county plans on sending out prior information to all parties involved to know about unannounced drills and to make sure school principals are on hand during the drill as well.