Some school board members wanted to learn more about the school district’s “Run. Hide. Fight.” active-shooter response plan proposal.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Principal Rene Martin outlined the basics of the philosophy, which replaces the outdated “lockdown” response.

“Hide might be the right decision,” Martin said. “That’s traditionally what a lockdown is. It’s hunker down. It’s hide and it’s hope that nothing happens, but that’s not an effective strategy. The Run. Hide. Fight. philosophy is empowering people to make decisions in the moment.”

“Run” includes having an escape route in mind, “Hide” includes hiding in an area out of the shooter’s view and “Fight” includes attempting to incapacitate the shooter or act with physical aggression as a last resort, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security fact sheet.

school board president Anne Marie Palmieri said she wants parents and residents to be aware of the change in philosophy and wanted to better understand the plan in terms of age-appropriate responses.

“If I had a third grader, a little kid, and that was going to happen in the school and I didn’t know, I would be livid,” Palmieri said. “I definitely think this is something where we need to involve our community before we make these decisions.”

Martin told the board that the Haines Borough Police department is planning to teach the plan to staff, and they are still determining a date to teach the plan to students. She proposed a workshop to further discuss the response plan.

Board member Michael Wald said he wants to know more about what the school’s safety committee is doing and what it’s plans are. “I think there’s a variety of opinions and perspectives and, for me, what would help me be a better part of that conversation is just to have some data,” Wald said. “Let’s make, if possible, some rational decisions on where we’re putting our energy toward safety.”

The school board earlier in the meeting approved a $15,000 budget amendment to purchase security cameras.

Critics of the Run. Hide. Fight. program say it’s unrealistic because it’s based on linear thinking and doesn’t adequately address the brain’s natural impulse to freeze in stressful situations, according to a professor of science at New York University who wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times.

Run. Hide. Fight is promoted by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Superintendent Roy Getchell said the program is about empowering people to choose different options in an emergency.

“If something comes up and it’s different and it’s going to require a different response, do it,” Getchell said. “If you have the ability to leave the building, get out and we will find you later. If somebody comes in that shouldn’t be there and you have access and you need to fight, do it.”

The board also approved budget amendments after the district received a revenue boon. Because the district enrollment increased by 15 students more than budgeted for, its base student allocation from the state increased by $275,408.

The district also received $44,272 in appropriations from the passage last June of Senate Bill 142.

The board amended the budget to purchase $12,000 worth of equipment for the automotive vocational education classroom, $10,000 more for online speech services, $52,419 in salary for new assistants for additional special education students and monies to repair equipment in the cafeteria.

The board also approved transferring an additional $40,000 into the activities budget to help with travel and other expenses. That amount has been funded historically, but was unfunded the past two years.