In wake of Las Cruces school threats, district identifies concerns raised by parents

Dozens of parents and faculty members voiced their concerns on security lapses within the Las Cruces Public Schools Wednesday night.

“We’ve invited what I call a security task force of parents and community members,” said Superintendent Dr. Greg Ewing.

Parents identified access points and a lack of personnel in certain parts of the district. They also discussed ways to prevent students from taking weapons onto campuses.

“Today’s activity was for us to listen to them and then for us to be able to tell them what we are doing, what our future plans are and how we all work together cooperatively to make all schools safe,” Ewing said.

The district brought in several members of law enforcement, including New Mexico State University’s chief of police, Stephen Lopez.

“We’re asking them to tell us what we don’t see every day,” Ewing said. We’re asking them to tell us what their ideas are. We’re asking them to tell us where our holes in our security system. We’re asking them to tell us where there are safety concerns in school buildings.”