Rapid City Area School District creates new position to keep schools safer

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The Rapid City Area School District is adding a new position this year in hopes of improving student and staff safety.

The district added a school safety manager who will help schools develop safety plans, form liaisons with law enforcement agencies and address safety concerns within the schools.

The position requires someone with experience in law enforcement so Matt Sargent, a retired sergeant for the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office decided to take the job. He says this is a great resource to keep the students and staff safe.

“This is actually becoming a trend nationwide where they are hiring school safety managers, a lot of times people with a retired law enforcement background, such as myself, to work in the school systems to keep our kids safe so they can actually go to school for what they’re supposed to do which is get an education,” Sargent said.

RCAS Superintendent Nicole Swigart says this position has been needed for a while.

“We designed a position that can help principals target their school safety plans, it can liaison with community agencies,” Swigart said. “We really want to create a position that is helping schools develop threat assessments and be able to address safety as they arise. "

Sargent will also teach staff and students about safety precautions they can take to prevent dangerous situations.

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