In emergency, RNC to use Arrowhead High School
Arrowhead High School will be used as an emergency response location during the Republican National Convention this summer.
In a May 13 email to parents, Arrowhead principal Adam Kurth said the school will have that designation from July 15-18, the dates of the convention. Kurth’s letter said the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department and “additional area police departments” were scheduled to meet the morning of May 14 at the school “to familiarize themselves” with the school’s facilities “in the event of a crisis/emergency during the RNC.”
“Arrowhead High School will only be used if there is a significant safety incident during the RNC,” Kurth said in his email to parents, a copy of which was posted on the Lake Country 411 Facebook group.
“The RNC applauds Waukesha County’s precautionary public safety efforts in the lead-up to the Republican National Convention and encourages other local communities to follow in the county’s footsteps,” the RNC said in an emailed statement. “Public safety is a top priority for the Republican National Convention, and we are encouraged to see local communities taking prudent public safety precautions.”
Arrowhead Superintendent Conrad Farner said Arrowhead wasn’t involved in the decision.
The RNC noted designating Arrowhead, in the town of Merton, as an emergency response location during the convention was an “ancillary decision made by Waukesha County” and that “the RNC was not involved in the decision-making process.”
Nicole Kelly, the Waukesha County Health and Human Services’ public information officer, said the county works with school districts, hospitals, private businesses and community organizations to identify places that could serve as emergency locations for a variety of events.
“Specifically, we’re looking at a list of criteria and seeing if that facility can meet the criteria and then of course, they would have to be interested in coordinating with us on that effort,” Kelly said in an interview.
Kelly said the type of emergency, size, location, parking, whether a building has backup generators and is air conditioned are examples of factors considered in determining what could serve as an emergency location.
Kelly also said Waukesha County is working with the Secret Service and other agencies on security for the Republican National Convention, but the use of Arrowhead as an emergency response location is separate from those efforts.
“This is just Waukesha County being very prepared for any type of emergency,” said Kelly.