By: The Dirt
There is “ongoing concern about protection from active shooter incidents” on Davis Joint Unified School District campuses, according to a new report from the Yolo County Grand Jury.
The report, published this week, highlights a lack of campus security in Davis schools and recommends improvements for better protection of students and staff. This is the 4th Grand Jury report outlining safety issues on Davis campuses since 2016.
This year’s report comes after a complaint that DJUSD hadn’t “done enough regarding ‘hardening’ campuses to protect against violence, with particular focus on the lack of fencing, and the locking of classrooms during school hours,” according to the report.
To gather information for the report, the Schools and Libraries Committee of the Grand Jury toured Cesar Chavez Elementary, North Davis Elementary and Davis Senior High School.
Here’s what they found:
- Davis Senior High School, Cesar Chavez Elementary and North Davis Elementary Schools have open access to the public through adjacent parks.
- Teachers frequently leave their classroom doors unlocked during school hours.
- Trail cameras do not provide instant communication about intruders.
- DJUSD allocated $3 million dollars for fencing in 2023 but no fencing has been installed.
The report further notes “controlling access and maximizing safety to the schools the Grand Jury investigated is not adequate because of the open nature of the parks adjacent to the schools. This is due to the policy of the Davis School Board and is generally reflected in the community. The representative of the Superintendent justified this position stating that school shootings were rare.”
Three people were treated for gunshot wounds in the field directly attached to North Davis Elementary and Davis Senior High School in a shooting on April 12. It was a Saturday and many DJUSD students were playing Little League in a field across the street. Video of the game shows children laying on the ground for safety as coaches and parents lay on top of them for protection. No arrests have been made in that case.
In the Spring of 2023, an armed man roamed the streets of Davis killing two people and severely injuring a third. One of his victims was killed in Sycamore park, in a park adjoining Willett Elementary. That trial is ongoing.
In the years since, DJUSD campuses have been victims of vandalism, hate speech and bomb threats.
Perception of Safety at School
Davis students are feeling less safe at school* now than they did in 2021, according to data from a Youth Truth survey and shared at a DJUSD meeting May 1.
In response to the question, “Do you feel safe at school,” only 57% of elementary school students responded that they feel safe—a 16 point drop since 2021.
When asked the question “Students are safe from violence at my school,” elementary school staff responses dropped from 85 percent positive perception in 2021 to 69 percent in 2024. Even at the high school level, only 59 percent of high school staff believe that students are safe from violence at their schools.
*This link has been removed by the site owner. The media was saved and is displayed at the bottom of this post.
Locking Doors?
“All the classroom doors at the schools the Grand Jury inspected were capable of locking. It has been noted that a locked classroom door is a strong safety precaution that teachers can easily do. The Grand Jury noted that not all teachers at the campuses the Grand Jury toured locked their classroom doors,” the report reads.
“Some of the teachers felt that the high traffic into and out of classrooms made locking difficult. The Superintendent’s representative did not seem concerned about the lax attitude of some of the teachers. If it was a priority, planned bathroom trips could be scheduled. The Superintendent could communicate the priority to keep classroom doors locked as much as possible.”
The Grand Jury recommends:
- Install instant communication cameras placed across the open access areas as well as on school grounds.
- Make it a priority for teachers to limit traffic and keep classroom doors locked whenever possible.
- Begin the campus fencing project.
The report requires a response from the DJUSD Board of Education trustees, and invites a response from the Yolo County Office of Education Superintendent of Schools.
