Some TPS Board Members Call On District To Do Even More To Improve Student Safety

Some Tulsa Public Schools board members are calling for the district to do more following the McLain homecoming game shooting.

The shooting has school safety on everyone's mind. TPS already has safety measures in place, but some of the district's board members say it's time to ask the question: is it enough?

Dr. Jerry Griffin, a Tulsa Public Schools board member, believes safety is more important now than ever.

"I think there's urgency to this," he said.

Monday night the TPS board voted to hire five more campus police officers following the shooting at McLain high school.

Dr. Griffin says more needs to be done. He's calling for the district to hire an outside agency to re-evaluate district safety.

"Doors, locks, camera, it's going to be very comprehensive," he said.

"So, we need to upgrade all of our facilities."

Dr. Griffin and fellow board member E'Lena Ashley both believe an evaluation and potentially adding even more security is the first step to ensure parents and students know the district is responding to the shooting.

Ashley added that making students feel safe has a big impact on learning.

"I don't want to lose the focus on, on academics, and literally all of this is necessary for a child to be able to feel comfortable enough to learn," she said.

When Dr. Griffin was asked about the cost of all this evaluation and extra security, he said it'll be expensive - but made it clear that any cost would be worth it.

"How much was that child's worth that was killed the other night? How much is any child's life worth? So cost to me is not even an issue. It's, we've got to do it," he said.

Griffin hopes a proposal to seek out security evaluation will be on the agenda soon.