Butler County schools take closer look at security during summer break

The Hamilton Police Department conducted an active shooter and SWAT training at Hamilton High School on Wednesday, involving students, school staff and administrators in a mock emergency.

FULL STORY: School security training continues during summer

Earlier this summer, educators from Ross Local Schools got the district’s first-ever training in emergency casualty care.

Dozens of staffers frantically stuffed medical gauze into bloody-looking holes in a thigh-sized chunk of raw meat.

The beef — pumped full of red liquid simulating oozing blood — doubled as a human body part just ripped into by bullets fired by a school shooter.

FULL STORY: Butler County teachers learn to plug bullet holes as part of active shooter training

“It’s really good, hands-on experience,” said grade-school teacher Kim Hindery, referring to a possible school shooting that would have teachers helping those wounded. “We’ve never really known what to do in a hands-on situation. It preps you for what you would do in that exact situation.”

In another measure to enhance school security, residents in more than half of Butler County’s school systems could see a new kind of school security tax on the fall ballot.

Under a new school taxing option allowed by Ohio — to form a county school financing district that went into effect in March — school districts in the state’s 88 counties can cooperate collectively in placing a school security tax hike before voters.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Voters in 6 Butler County school systems to decide on new security tax

A recent informal and non-binding vote by leaders of Butler County’s 10 public school districts showed six favor proceeding with the process of putting a tax hike on the November ballot: Hamilton, Fairfield, New Miami, Monroe, Ross and Edgewood.

Two districts — Madison and Middletown — voted to not participate.

Lakota School officials said the district remains undecided.

Officials from the Talawanda Schools did not attend the most recent meeting but previously announced the district would not participate.

MORE: Talawanda Schools first in county to say ‘no’ to new school security tax option