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Safety & Security Newsletter

Ellensburg School District

Safety & SecurityNewsletterEllensburg School District
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In this Issue:

New MMR Vaccination Law, Staff Safety Training, Staff Spotlight, Parent Drop Off/Pick Up Procedures
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Parent Drop Off/Pick Up Process

One of the most frequent locations of accidents in schools across the nation is in the school parking lot. Parents - we need your help! Each school in our district has unique drop off/pick up locations for students that we ask you to honor. When dropping off or picking up your student please pay attention to designated areas for:




  • Bus Lanes
  • Handicapped Parking
  • Cross walks
  • Directional Arrows for travel



Working together with parents we can help to ensure safe travel for students on their path into school.

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Staff Safety Training

We have been providing for a variety of training opportunities to staff teams around school safety. Some of the trainings include:


  • CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design)
  • GAP Training
  • Threat Assessment
  • Basic SRO (School Resource Officer)
  • Crisis Team Training
  • DIDEE (Drug Identification & Detection for Educational Environments)


We are committed to providing the most relevant training to our staff regarding safety and security.

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Staff Spotlight - SSO Botten

Scott Botten is our full-time School Security Officer (SSO). This is Officer Botten's 2nd year in the position. Did you know:


  • Ofc. Botten was a school counselor at both Valley View and EHS for a combined 20 years
  • Ofc. Botten was a high school football coach at EHS
  • In his spare time, Botten serves as a Reserve Police Officer with the Ellensburg Police Department


A typical day for Officer Botten includes greeting students at the start of the day, delivering lessons to classrooms, patrolling our campuses, and ensuring safe parent pick up at the end of the school day.


If you see Officer Botten in any of our schools please stop and say hello!

Student Vaccination Law - New!

In May 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill that removes the personal and philosophical option to exempt children from the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine required for school and child care entry.


The bill took effect July 28, 2019 and applies to public and private schools and child cares. The law removes the option for a personal/philosophical exemption to the MMR vaccine requirement for schools and child cares. It also requires employees and volunteers at child care centers to provide immunization records indicating they have received the MMR vaccine or proof of immunity.

The department and our partners will continue our work in helping parents and the public understand the safety record of vaccines and the critical role they have in saving lives.

This page contains quick information and resources on this change to school and child care immunization requirements. Find more detailed information in the Frequently Asked Questions. As more information becomes available, we will share it.

Law Change Quick Facts

  • The new law took effect July 28, 2019 and applies to public and private schools and licensed child cares.
  • The law also requires employees and volunteers at child care centers to provide immunization records indicating they have received the MMR vaccine or proof of immunity.
  • This law does not change religious and medical exemption laws. Children who have one of these types of exemptions on file are not affected by the new law.
  • This law does not change personal and philosophical exemptions for vaccines other than MMR.
  • Access your family’s immunization records if you need to check whether you or your child meets the MMR vaccine requirements.
  • This law does not affect most students. More than 9 out of 10 kindergartners in Washington are complete with both doses of MMR vaccine, and 96 percent of 6th graders have both doses. These students, along with those who have medical or religious exemptions, will notice no change from the new exemption law.
  • Learn more about Engrossed House Bill 1638 here, or read the full text of the new law.
  • In partnership with the department, 15 Safeway and Albertsons pharmacies across the state are offering MMR vaccine free of charge to child care staff and volunteers who need it because of the new law. Read the July 25 news release for more information. Click here for a list of participating locations.

Next issue

In our next newsletter, look for information on:


  • Emergency Drills - How we prepare staff and students in our schools
  • Apps to watch out for on your child's smart devices

For more information: Neil Musser - Security & Safety Director

Email: neil.musser@esd401.org
Website: www.esd401.org
Location: 1203 East Capitol Avenue, Ellensburg, WA, USA
Phone: 509-925-8308