The Santee School District has hired its first director of safety and security.Michael Castillo previously managed and trained campus law enforcement at the University of San Diego.”Together, we will continue to build upon the District’s strong foundation of safety while enhancing the systems, relationships, and preparedness that help ensure every student and staff member can learn and work in a safe and secure environment,” he said in a statement.
Courtesy of Santee School District
Michael Castillo in an undated photograph.
Superintendent Kristin Baranski said Castillo will oversee emergency preparedness and partner with first responders when needed.“He would be the direct contact with, let’s say, our sheriff’s department or the fire department and working through the next steps in an investigation,” she said.The Santee School District has nine elementary and middle schools. District leaders created the position after Safe and Sound Schools assessed the campuses. The organization was founded by two mothers whose children died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.The assessment led to one key recommendation: having one person in charge of safety and security.As part of the assessment, the district held workshops with teachers and other community members. Shortly before those workshops, a superior court judge granted Andy Williams’ request to be resentenced. Williams was 15 years old when he killed two people and wounded 13 others at Santana High School in 2001.It put the tragedy back in headlines, and back on the minds of Santee residents.“I was a principal back then in Santee,” Baranski said. “That was very hard. And it continues to be a very challenging situation in Santee.”In recent years, her district has added security cameras to school lobbies. Staff and visitor badges track their locations. School employees have wearable panic buttons.Now, Baranski thinks the new director role will bring other positive changes.“Not only with our facilities needs that we have, but also with that coordination of training, and our staff feeling like they know what to do in any given situation,” she said.The district’s first day of school is Aug. 19.
