Corzine forms task force on school security Saturday, October 07, 2006 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff Gov. Jon Corzine yesterday announced the formation of a School Security Task Force after a rash of school shootings in other states over the past two weeks. The new task force will be chaired by Richard Cañas, director of the state Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness, and bring together state, county and local officials to review and ad vance school security measures, officials said. "Given the occurrences of the past weeks, I believe it is important that we conduct a thorough evaluation of the measures in place to keep our children safe in their learning environments," Corzine said in a statement. The task force follows a program last year launched by former Gov. Richard Codey, now state Senate president, to conduct safety evaluations of every school in the state. Cañas said yesterday he hopes the new group will carry forward Codey's initiative and look at what needs to be pursued. "I was pleasantly surprised the state and schools have done as much as they have," he said. "I didn't see any huge gaps out there, but the proof is also in the details." The group plans its own simula tions of potential crises, to see how the officials would react. And Cañas said it also will serve as a clearinghouse of information for districts, and, in the end, an advo cate in meeting their security needs. "We can't cover all the school doors," he said. "But things like (surveillance) cameras, they are great deterrents. And they cost money." © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.