KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) said it has identified ways it can improve school safety and security.

Some of these practices will be implemented immediately, but others will need to be presented to the school board.

On Nov. 7, a 13-year-old student who attends Mahone Middle School attempted to enter Roosevelt Elementary School with a suspicious bag. Police later arrested the student in his home. He has been charged with making terroristic threats.

In the aftermath of that incident, KUSD announced it was conducting a “comprehensive” internal review of its safety practices to identify any potential improvements it can make, in collaboration with law enforcement.

KUSD said any improvements identified that can be made quickly will be implemented immediately. Any changes that need “significant resources” will be presented to and considered by the Board of Education.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, KUSD announced that as a result of the review of its safety procedures, all front office staff will undergo a refresher training about visitor protocols. This training will include safety screening practices and utilizing a visitor management system.

KUSD also said offices across the district will have new doorbell camera monitors installed. These monitors will offer improved visibility. There will also be additional outdoor camera views.

KUSD said it is looking to hire part-time school entrance monitors at seven schools. These schools do not have controlled entrances. The school entrance monitors will be stationed at main entrances. After visitors are screened by office staff, the school entrance monitor will escort them to their destination.

KUSD said it would like to install controlled entrances at all schools that do not have one. Other safety improvements it would like to make include updating cameras, replacing exterior doors, installing shatter-resistant window film and adding more card readers. All of those safety enhancements would cost more than $13 million. KUSD leaders will present those enhancements to the Board of Education for consideration.

KUSD said those more costly security improvements may be included in a referendum that is currently under development. That referendum would appear on a Feb. 2025 ballot.

“This recent incident highlights the need to address safety within our schools. We are making it a priority to address all areas we can at this time because ensuring a safe environment for our students and staff is not only essential — it is our top priority,” said KUSD Superintendent Jeff Weiss. “If these proposed safety and security enhancements are included in the upcoming referendum, we will look to our community for support at the polls in February to make these vital changes a reality.”

While the school district worked with law enforcement to identify enhanced safety steps it could take, it’s no stranger to working with the Kenosha Police Department. Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton said his department works closely with the school district on best practices, preparedness and threat mitigation. 

In fact, Patton said his department is in constant contact with KUSD. 

“We work together all the time,” Patton said. “We’ve done a lot of things to make sure that we are looking at other school shootings and evaluate what we can do to prevent them.”

He said outside every school there are blue boxes are for responding officers. Inside, there’s a detailed layout of the building and emergency contacts. 

“One of the big key things we just did recently was on the outside display of schools,” Patton said. “We are starting to install the room numbers and that doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but for an officer who is responding to a building and hearing what room the threat is in, now we can see it from the outside as well.”

Earlier this year, Patton held a public safety meeting with parents on what they can do at home, which included conversations to have with kids about safety. 

“We have seen a huge uptick in threats to schools,” Patton said. “Now, a lot of these have to do with the algorithms that the social media platforms are providing tips to us with, but the threats were coming in at rates that we hadn’t seen before.”

Despite the security measures already in place and the additional safety measures on the table, some school district parents said they still feel on edge. 

“I’ve been having mass anxiety,” Clarisse Stelzl, who has two children at Roosevelt Elementary, said. “[The principal] has not really emailed, besides a very generic email. He has not reassured us. We have gotten a KUSD generic email that they are updating things, but other than that, there has not really been much reassurance.”

In fact, she said she's considering pulling her children out of KUSD entirely. 

“I am looking into a private school in Racine for [my kids] just to hopefully have safety,” Stelzl said. “My daughter has one more year here. Other than that, I am looking into possibly getting her into that one, too.”