Corbett Sanders: FCPS will conduct full security review

Karen Corbett Sanders, seen here with Supervisor Dan Storck (left) and FCPS Superintendent Scott Braband (right) at the Feb. 3 Mount Vernon Town Meeting.

A visibly emotional Karen Corbett Sanders, vice chair and Mount Vernon district representative for the Fairfax County School Board, told attendees of the South County Task Force meeting Wednesday that FCPS will conduct a full review of security measures in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14.

“We want to make sure we’re doing everything we physically can” to ensure student safety, said Corbett Sanders, deeming it a “national problem” that proper gun safety measures aren’t in place.

The Mount Vernon native said that local FCPS students held their first brief walkout two days ago, and on Wednesday, the protest expanded to several other FCPS schools. The school board sent a message to FCPS principals requesting that students’ First Amendment rights be protected, as long as their actions aren’t disruptive, she added.

A resolution by Fairfax County at-large school board member Ryan McElveen — calling upon the Congress and state legislatures to take action against gun violence — will come up for a vote at the Fairfax County School Board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School tonight. Corbett Sanders said there also would be a forum discussion about another board member’s [Springfield district representative Elizabeth Schultz] proposal to add armed security guards to county schools.

“I will not be supporting that,” said Corbett Sanders, adding that “there were armed people at Columbine, and it didn’t help.”

Besides school security, Corbett Sanders discussed county executive Bryan Hill’s Advertised FY 2019 budget and his request to the Board of Supervisors for $25 million in additional bonding authority, which would enable FCPS to cut the number of school trailers in half. Corbett Sanders’ and Gunston Hall executive director Scott Stroh’s initiative to introduce a 4th grade “passport” program for historical sites in Mount Vernon-Lee likely will be announced in the next week or two, she said.

Corbett Sanders also addressed some of the upcoming developments at the original Mount Vernon High School, noting that it’s “a wonderful opportunity to become a central destination on the highway.” The developers will engage the community and South County Task Force in planning a multipurpose facility — both for-profit and not-for-profit — that provides access to people with disabilities, she said.