20 Apr Six Years After Student Was Killed, AUSD Still Considering Safety Measures

A safety committee on April 15 recommended to the school board that the Antioch Unified School District implement metal detectors and increase the presence of safety personnel like school resource officers. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

About six years ago, a student was fatally shot on campus, which resulted in a recent $1.5 million payout from the Antioch Unified School District. Now, a district safety committee is recommending that schools implement “top-tier” metal detectors and increase the presence of safety personnel like school resource officers.

Those two recommendations and six other safety ideas were presented at Wednesday’s school board meeting, following the committee’s first meetings this school year. Committee members also recommended an increase in mental health support and communication, consistent incident reporting and enhanced surveillance.

“I think we have got the train on the tracks,” said Tim Cooper, director of student support services, about the committee. “But I think it needs to continue forward in the years to come to make sure we’re on top of that.”

After Jonathon Parker, a student at Deer Valley High School, was killed on campus in 2020, witnesses said that no security personnel were in the area at the time, according to reporting from the Bay Area News Group. District officials testified that they had raised safety concerns before the incident, including a lack of cameras in the parking area where Parker was killed.

The incident spurred calls for change to security on campuses. The Antioch City Council voted to split the cost of school resource officers with AUSD months after — but then walked that vote back soon after — and board President Jag Lathan told the Bay Area News Group this year that it had taken “meaningful steps” to strengthen safety.

But in a separate initial report detailing district culture, climate and safety presented at the board meeting, USC Rossier School of Education researchers found that parents and middle and high school students had safety concerns. Elementary students largely felt safe in classrooms and with teachers, though some expressed the need for more cameras and concerns immediately off campus.

AUSD received regional scrutiny over student discipline and safety earlier this year after a hazing incident involving Antioch High School football players. The incident was caught on camera, as other incidents of violence have been since 2020.

“Every day, we understand there are activities that are going on that we don’t even know as a
board. We get them when they’re already finalized, and they’re major items, but they’re minor things that are going on daily,” said board member Mary Rocha.

Between Jan. 10, 2025, and mid-December, 185 fights were reported to SR Global Security, which provides services to AUSD, according to a 2025 report. Another 37 reports were about a weapon, and 17 for gun threats.

The four months prior to 2025 and before SR Global took over, there were only 15 reports of fighting to the then-security provider and 19 calls about a weapon

A “prevalent theme” too for staff was inconsistent discipline and safety systems, according to the USC report.

Principals and site leaders told USC researchers that while safety infrastructure was improving, there was an “inconsistent” understanding about emergency procedures and a lack of understanding about required documentation.

Celia Medina-Owens, a parent and safety committee member, said that most educators the committee came in contact with did not know the documentation process for incidents.

“From a parent perspective, the reason why we want to document that is because we also want to document interventions — are those interventions being successful?” said Medina-Owens.

Board members do not have to implement the recommendations, and at least one board member has previously spoken about how school resource officers impact students negatively.

Some research has shown that school resource officers can increase suspension and expulsions, and reduce some violence but do not stop gun violence. Metal detectors are also the least-used forms of security in schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Only 2% of schools used metal detectors to check students daily during the 2021-22 school year.