Mayor Mobolade talks school safety, D11 discusses phone policy

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade made a special appearance at Palmer High School on Thursday, Aug. 15 to discuss school safety as the 2024-2025 school year begins.

Mobolade’s monthly meeting this August touched on several topics including; school traffic, student education, and safety. As a parent of three school-aged kids, Mobolade said that the safety of students is at the top of his mind.

“There is nothing more important to me as Mayor, to Palmer High School, to the entire city than the safety of our students,” said Mobolade.

Mobolade explained there are two school safety initiatives where the City partners with Colorado Springs schools. One is the School Resource Officer (SROs) Initiative, which provides security and safety to schools across the city.

“Following the tragedy of Columbine in 1999, the SRO program has become a best practice in communities across the U.S.,” said Mobolade. “These officers are independent and self-motivated [and] they engage in all aspects of school life and culture—from talking to parents to de-escalating situations—they are [also] there to support extracurricular activities.”

The SROs program is a partnership between the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) and 20 schools including six middle schools and 14 high schools across Districts 2, 11, 12, 20, and 49.

Mobolade said these officers are also trained as first responders and can respond to emergencies such as an active shooter or violent situation.

As for safety around school zones, Mobolade reminded the community that the speed limit in a school zone is 25 MPH and fines are doubled if an individual is caught speeding.

“If you are driving, slow down, especially through school and construction zones,” Mobolade said. He also reminded motorists and pedestrians alike to pay attention to their surroundings and avoid any distractions.

Mobolade also mentioned school zones will be a priority for the Speed Cameras Program, a new initiative the City Council approved in May 2024, which aims to protect the city’s most vulnerable pedestrians.

“These improvements will help us immensely as we enforce speed laws in the school zone areas,” said Mobolade.”It’s really important that we keep our students and our children safe.”

When asked about the newest policy regarding phone pouches by a Palmer High School student, Mobolade let Colorado Springs School District 11 Superintendent Michael Gaal, answer the question that prompted if the idea was a good decision and if the money could have been allocated toward other school needs.

Gaal said the policy was necessary as professional educators need to have students’ attention. He also mentioned the money used to buy the phone pouches came from reserve funds.

“It is an expensive venture to be able to stop the tide of so many companies that are fighting for your attention against the learning opportunity,” said Gaal. “I’m extremely proud of our board of education for making this policy but we are way behind nationally.”

According to Gaal, several other large school districts across the U.S. including New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles have also made the change. Locally, some parents have expressed their worries and opinions about the policy and concerns if an emergency were to happen.

The new phone policy requires students in middle school and high school to place their phone in a pouch with a special magnet that locks, then at the end of the day, they can unlock it. In case of emergencies, teachers can unlock each phone.

Students were also present at Thursday’s press conference and Gaal had this to say regarding the new policy.

“We know it’s hard for you all but if you go home and ask your parents to take a vote and ask many of the adults that are here today, we are all really proud of the hard work that we will go through together to get us back to being a teaching and learning organization first and foremost,” said Gaal.

Watch more of Thursday’s press conference in the video player above.

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