Oakland County Police, Districts Talk About Increasing School Safety

PONTIAC, MI — Months after the Oxford School shooting killed four students and injured others, Oakland County school officials discussed school safety with representatives from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office at a Monday summit in Pontiac.

With state legislators allocating more than $210 million in state funds for school security, more than 150 officials gathered at the United Wholesale Mortgage Sports Complex Auditorium in Pontiac to talk about increasing safety and bolstering readiness in the event of a school shooting.

Another main focus during the summit was increasing communication between the school districts and law enforcement.

"We want to make sure we are in communication with all of our school partners and that they understand what we need from them, and we understand what they need from us," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.

The summit also came after students at a Rochester Hills high school were evacuated when officials heard that a student had a gun in the school. Officials later determined that the threat wasn't credible.

It also comes as a student at a South Lyon high school was arrested Wednesday for making a shooting threat. Officials determined that the threat wasn't credible, but students were put on lockdown while officials searched the school for ten hours.

Some Oakland County school districts, including Rochester, Clarkston and Oxford have placed resource officers in their schools. In addition, the Southfield district hired a security firm for a safety assessment and Northville Public Schools gave police key fobs so they can quickly access school buildings if there is an emergency.