Wichita school officials pledge to investigate security gaps at East High

Wichita school officials said Thursday they will investigate possible security lapses at the district’s largest high school after a man walked into the school Wednesday, followed a student into a bathroom and sexually battered her.

“We’re going to have an open, honest conversation about ways we can get better,” said Terri Moses, executive director of safety services for the Wichita district. “From prevention to response, how everything happened in the middle, and making sure we fill any gaps that we find.”

The incident occurred at about 10:50 a.m. Wednesday at East High School, near Douglas and Grove, Wichita police Lt. James Espinoza said.

An 18-year-old girl said a man followed her as she went into a bathroom at the school. The stranger asked her where the gym was, then sexually battered her as she tried to leave the restroom, Espinoza said. She immediately notified school staff, who alerted the school resource officer.

After a review of surveillance video, staff determined the suspect is not a student at East, Espinoza said. Wichita police posted an image of the suspect on the department’s Facebook page Wednesday, asking for the public’s help in identifying him.

A recorded telephone message sent to East High families Wednesday afternoon said only that an unknown person entered the school and “approached a student” and that the student alerted authorities.

After police revealed more details Thursday, some students, parents and employees expressed concern about the severity of the incident and overall security at East.

“After hearing all of what happened yesterday, I fully support more security at East,” senior Andrew Figueiredo said on Twitter. “The status quo doesn’t cut it.”

The incident occurred while classes were in session. At the time, several administrators and others were making their way through the building, delivering balloons and candy to nine students who had been named National Merit semifinalists.

East High is the district’s oldest and largest high school, serving about 2,300 students on a sprawling campus that includes a large main building with more than 30 doors. Several of the doors are unlocked during the day to allow students to move freely between the main building and Building B, which includes some social studies classrooms.

Multiple entrances

The main office at East, where visitors are supposed to check in as part of a new Hall Pass security system, is in the middle of the second floor.

“We have campuses that have parking lots on every single side of the building,” said Moses, the security director. “You can’t funnel everybody to one door because it’s just not possible to do that.

“So we have to figure out: How do we take a large campus, limit the number of open doors, (and) man those open doors the entire time that school is in session?”

As part of its 2008 bond issue, Wichita added controlled-access entries to most of its school buildings. Several middle and high schools, however, still have multiple entrances. At East, various staff members monitor the open doors and direct visitors toward the office.

A new policy at East this year requires students to have their school-issued ID cards visible at all times. Most students and staff members wear IDs on lanyards. People visiting campus, including parents, are required to check in at the office for a date-specific name badge.

Moses would not comment specifically about Wednesday’s incident at East High, saying it had been turned over to law enforcement. She said district security officials planned to meet with East administrators to reconsider safety protocol and look for ways to improve.

“Any time we have an incident, we debrief. That’s how security gets improved,” Moses said.

“If you look at all the incidents that have occurred nationwide, especially ones that get media coverage, the one good thing that happens … is that everybody takes a step back and says, ‘What can we do to make our school safer?’ ”

Kim Curry, whose daughter is a sophomore at East, said she was disturbed by Wednesday’s incident but unsure what school officials could do to enhance security.

“If I was that girl’s parents I would say that no expense should be spared – have someone monitoring every door, whether it’s with video or having somebody actually there,” Curry said.

“But I know in the real world that there’s no way the schools can afford to do that.”

At large high schools like East, “they have to weigh police state vs. a natural environment,” Curry said. “Unfortunately, you can’t prevent everything that could possibly happen.”

‘See something, say something’

Wednesday’s message to East High families commended the student who reported the incident in the bathroom by immediately alerting a staff member.

Moses said parents should remind children to quickly report any mysterious person or suspicious activity.

“Take this opportunity to talk to them about, ‘See something, say something,’” she said, referencing a slogan coined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“Some kids don’t know that everybody (in schools) should have a sticker on them. Now’s the time to have that conversation with your kid. … If you see somebody without identification, then you step forward and say something.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Wichita school officials pledge to investigate security gaps at East High."