Property Issues

School Safety vs. School Culture
Interview with Craig Slayton - Director of Security at Fort Worth Country Day School

Craig Slayton has served as Director of Security at Fort Worth Country Day School for 12 years. Prior to his appointment at FWCDS, Mr. Slayton was an officer in the Fort Worth Police department for 25 years, serving as school liaison officer and with the police gang unit. 

SOS: When you first arrived at Country Day School, was there a learning curve for you?

CS: Absolutely. Although my job was similar – keeping the school community safe – the environment was very different. I had to learn how to apply effective safety measures within the culture of a private school. For example, there isn’t much gang activity on campus, but we do have parents who are very influential in our community. So our security staff must display diplomacy as well as protect the school community.

Risk Management Self Audit

SOS Risk Management - Promoting Best Practices
There is no single definition of “Risk” in today’s school business operations. The term Risk Management can encompass such practices as adding mulch on a playground to having adequate insurance policies in place for expected perils such as floods or tornados. There are five major ways to handle risk in your schools operations: Avoidance, Retention, Non-Insurance Transfers, Loss Control & Transfer. Let’s self-evaluate and identify the risks that our school may be facing. This Self-Audit should serve as a best practices guide for identifying risks at your school.

Integrated Pest Management
by Tim Sanz

Now, let’s take a closer look at Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and School Pest Control issues. Since the pest control laws were enacted in September of 1995 by the Texas Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB), the goal has been to minimize the usage of pesticides while maximizing the benefits of lower costs and pesticide exposures through preventative measures and building surveillances. 

Should You Hire an Independent Manager for Construction Projects?

We asked Bill Keslar, president of Building Solutions, to discuss the value of a hiring an independent project manager for construction projects. Building Solutions has been hired as a project manager for numerous new construction and retrofit projects including Good Shepherd Episcopal School, St. Philip’s School and Community Center, Episcopal School of Dallas, Greenhill School, North Hills School, Ft. Worth Country Day, and several schools in Houston and New Orleans. He shares some of his experiences here.