Some 150 Chicago schools had no emergency management plans as recently as last month–a lapse that helped earn the district a failing grade from a group examining whether the nation’s 20 largest school systems are prepared to handle a terrorist attack.
The report, released Friday by the America Prepared Campaign, comes as a terrifying crisis played out in a Russian school seized by rebels armed with suicide-bomb belts. Commandos stormed the school Friday, setting off battles with the rebels estimated to have left more than 200 dead and hundreds more hospitalized.
The report generally praised large school districts such as Los Angeles, Houston, Memphis and Prince George’s County, Md., for tackling the terrorist threat. The districts that rated “good” or “best” developed school-specific crisis plans that include floor plans and specific strategies for different threats, stockpiled water and supplies in buildings, and developed a direct way to communicate emergency plans to parents.
Yet Chicago and Detroit were singled out for sharp criticism in the report, which argued that the two districts had “abdicated [their] responsibility” by doing little to even address the issue of terrorism. The report is based on interviews of school officials, a limited survey of parents and a review of the districts’ emergency management plans.
“Frankly, I was surprised that so many districts had done so much since 9/11, Chicago being one of the exceptions,” said Steven Brill, author of “After: How America Confronted the September 12 Era” and chairman of America Prepared, a group funded by foundation grants that focuses on terrorism preparedness.
“Chicago would have more cover if all 20 of the largest districts weren’t doing much to prepare. But the reality is a lot of them are, and they are able to do it against the same tug of priorities that Chicago faces.”
Chicago school officials dismissed the report as “completely shoddy.” District spokesman Peter Cunningham said its authors issued a sweeping condemnation of Chicago after only a few phone interviews and without visiting a single school.
“I’m not saying these emergency plans are perfect. If we can do better, we will do better,” Cunningham said. “But our first priority is to open schools on time and help kids learn. With the resources we have, we do the best job we can.”
To reach its conclusions about Chicago, the study’s authors relied heavily on two interviews with the school district’s director of safety and security, Andres Durbak, a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department. In the report, Durbak acknowledged that at least a fourth of the schools never filed emergency management plans as mandated by his office. About 300 schools filed “mediocre” plans, he said in the report. He blamed this lapse on principals, whom he called “stuck and stupid.”
Durbak did not return phone calls Friday, but school spokesman Cunningham said the comments were quoted out of context. Since he learned of the report this week, Durbak has pressured dozens of schools to submit their emergency plans, leaving only about 100 that still don’t have plans on file.
