BEND, Ore. – At their first meeting since the Silver Rail Elementary shooting nearly a month ago, the Bend-La Pine School Board got an update from district officials Tuesday evening on what happened on Oct. 15 and in the days since, and where efforts stand to improve safety and security.

They also heard from several teachers, counselors, parents and others who expressed concerns ranging from no quicker learning options for Silver Rail families since the tragedy to repeated calls for more mental health support, smaller class sizes and stronger efforts to support troubled students with special needs from falling through the cracks, possibly heading off more failures or tragedies.

District Director of Safety Scott Bojanowski told the board that since his position was created a decade ago, the district has made “huge steps” to improve safety, from a visitor and volunteer management system with background checks to a digital radio system, secure entryways, lobbies and vestibules.

The costs of needed or wanted improvements will easily exceed what’s available so far. Bojanowski said it cost $6 million over three years to change about 5,000 doors across the district so they can be locked from the inside, when it used to take a key in the outside of the door to lock them.

Bend Police Sgt. James Kinsella noted some sadly familiar stats of late, how there have been six school resource officers (half paid for by the school district) covering 26 of the district’s 33 schools.

“Do the math – it’s a lift,” he said.

But Kinsella also pointed to the progress ranging from lockdown training to SROs special roles with students and staffs.

Still, he said: “We can’t put our finger on what we’ve kept from happening – because you never really know.”

A look at the timeline of the fateful day focused attention on the process of reunifying students and parents that frightening afternoon at Journey Church, which took until after 5 p.m. to complete.

One complication at the reunification site was that every person who arrived got a card they tracked, said Kayla Martin, the district’s assistant director of safety. As a result, she said, “we had a very large stack of repeats” naming the same students, as for example a husband, sister and mom arrived separately.

“For one student, we may have had four to six family members” at the church, she said.

“We knew that we could not make the mistake of letting someone think that their child was safe, and then go back on that,” Martin said, “so we made the decision to collectively hand off every single student until we knew that they were with a guardian.” Otherwise, she said, “we could never come back from the emotional damage we do.”

Bojanowski said: “I went back and forth about speaking out to the parents in the auditorium, to verify that they knew that at this point, ‘Everybody that’s here, you’re going home with your child tonight.' And I decided not to that. It’s a decision that I’ll regret probably, just knowing now, after the fact, that there are families who had to wait a couple hours to see their child.”

As it turns out, school staff, including psychologist support, hadn’t practiced the grimmest task of all – death notifications. Kinsella said police also haven't received formal training on that very sensitive process, but “we’re working on that.”

Bojanowski said the family reunifications actually went faster than the drills had indicated, which said they could take five to six hours to complete, especially at the larger middle and high schools.

School board member Jenn Lynch said she reviewed the “Standard Response Protocol” created by the I Love U Guys Foundation and that “based on my reading of that plan, we followed that protocol, to the letter.”

As Martin put it: “We were trying to control the worst moments of someone’s life as best and respectful as we could.”

Bojanowski said that nearly a month later, “I’m a walking zombie … We know this is a long-term recovery. We know this is just the beginning of a long road ahead.”

The frustrating topic of money was inescapable. Bojanowski said staff already made a priority list this summer, from protective window to taller fences, but voters may well face a levy or bond measure request in the next few years.

Superintendent Steve Cook said the district is applying for four federal grants from programs “available to schools facing what we’re facing.” Then there’s Gov. Tina Kotek $10 million request of lawmakers at next month’s Emergency Board meeting.

“All of those could be a yes or a no,” Cook said.

He also pointed to continuing conversations about how to best use fundraising efforts, not just for Silver Rail but to meet the needs of all 33 schools. That's amid declining enrollment (which shrinks state funding) and higher costs that have led to cutting 120 staff over the past three years. Still, some departments have gotten more funding, from special needs to English language learning – and safety.

The district also has many people stepping up to volunteer their help, in whatever way possible. Martin noted the district doesn’t have a volunteer coordinator, but they are helping people through applications and background checks, “just figuring out the best way to utilize people in our schools.”

When the time came for public comments, parent and psychotherapist Mo Mitchell said she was there to “advocate for all the people who fall through the cracks,” from those with disabilities to others living in poverty or “who are not safe at home.”

Another parent said, “We don’t need more cops,” but “to prioritize the comfort of our most vulnerable students. My son is not doing well in school – and he’s 6. We have to change this, and we have to lean in and be uncomfortable.”

Caldera High science teacher Megan Mooney also expressed concern about student support and painted a picture of frustration and concern.

“Each year becomes more challenging than the last,” Mooney said, “as more support is taken from the classroom, and more responsibility is placed on teachers. I currently teach a freshman class of 44 (students).”

She said that’s fairly typical, amid cuts in funding educational assistants and learning specialists. Mooney also said in just the past two weeks, she's witnessed “physical and verbal threats” involving students with learning disabilities.

Kim Drew, a learning and behavior specialist with the Central Oregon Learning Alliance, said “this tragedy has exposed gaps in school safety,” such as classroom lockdown drills not taking into account those who might be in restrooms, gyms, cafeterias and hallways.

Drew called for individualized emergency plans, saying “no child should have to improvise” if an emergency strikes in a place where they were not trained what to do.

Kim Riley, parent of a Silver Rail fourth-grader, said she understood the “necessary” hours-long reunification process. But she went on to sharply criticize a lack of communication with the school's families since the tragedy, from a canceled Oct. 19 meeting to last week’s “unorganized” engagement sessions, in which some parents filled out forms with specific questions that remained unanswered.

“The school board failed to hold an emergency public meeting,” Riley said, expressing dismay that at one of last week's meetings, the only mentioned plans involving four weeks of missed school will be to seek an exception to required instructional days from the Oregon Department of Education.

Riley also asked why the district didn’t swiftly move to implement online learning options and “knowingly ignored” advice from the FBI and others to return the students to school more quickly.

“How can a district make well-informed decisions without having continuous verbal dialogue with the majority of people caring for victims of this tragedy?” she asked. “It is not just district management that has failed, but also this board.”

Another parent with two children in the school district made clear: “I do not blame our superintendent, the staff or our school board for this tragedy. School violence is a heartbreaking national tragedy. I don’t want fear to transform our schools into fortresses.”

The real question, he said, is “how can we better help the young people in our community who are struggling” with issues such as bullying. He called for stronger mental health resources and better tools to help them.

“This doesn't have to be a choice between secure schools and supporting our children. We can do both,” he said. “But as we decide where to put our resources, I hope we remember that school safety isn't only about keeping danger out. It's about helping the children who are already inside.”

Another Bend-La Pine parent, Marie Dos Santos, said, “I'm asking the board to establish a clear district-wide safety improvement plan with priorities, timelines, funding options, and regular updates to families."

“What can we improve immediately? What requires additional funding? And what can we as families expect to see as progress?” she said. “I'm not asking for promises that every tragedy can be prevented. I'm asking for visible, measurable actions.

“Our children deserve safe schools, our teachers deserve support, and our families deserve to know that this is being treated with urgency," Dos Santos said, adding: "Please don't let this conversation lose momentum.”