Officers help with drills

Published 7:14 pm Friday, April 6, 2012

Parents and the community may notice a law-enforcement presence at schools within Beaufort County during the remaining weeks of this school year.

Chances are those law-enforcement officers are participating in drills.

“Parents and guardians will be notified immediately through our automated call system if there is an actual emergency at their child’s school,” said Sarah Hodges, public-information officer for Beaufort County Schools. “We ask parents to always update their contact information at their child’s school for this very reason.”

Unless parents are notified, they should not become concerned if they ride by and see law-enforcement cars at their child’s school. Over the next several weeks, law-enforcement officers may be seen on any school campus, as they have been recently, to participate in crisis-preparation drills.

“This year we have fully opened our doors to local law enforcement and invited them to take an active role in campus response drills,” said Don Phipps, superintendent of Beaufort County Schools. “The response from law enforcement has been positive and continues to grow. For that we are very grateful.”