FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Marjory Stoneman Douglas High was warned about the safety of its freshman building as early as 2008 _ before it even opened, a former teacher at the Parkland school alleges in a lawsuit.
Richard Mendelson, who taught psychology and served on the school's safety committee, said he voiced concerns 10 years ago about the layout of the newly constructed three-story freshman building, the quality of its walls, the ease at which the door windows could be broken and the inability to lock doors from inside.
Now Mendelson, a Keiser University professor who is also running for a seat on the School Board, filed a lawsuit against the school district seeking to get copies of emails he says he sent in fall 2008 addressing those concerns.
If the emails confirm his claims, that would make him at least the second person to voice serious safety concerns prior to the Feb. 14 shooting, which left 17 people dead.
In December 2017, retired Secret Service agent Steve Wexler warned administrators the school could be vulnerable to a gunman. Gates were unlocked, students didn't wear identification badges, a fire alarm could send students streaming into the halls and active shooting drills were inadequate, Wexler said.
Wexler had conducted a security review of the school at the request of administrators and presented his findings to four staff members, but he said he never heard back from anyone at the school.
Years before that, Mendelson sent emails to Lucille Flynn, then an assistant principal at the school, about these concerns, he said.
The school failed to address any of Mendelson's concerns before the building opened to students and teachers in 2009, he said. The building, known as the freshman building or the 1200 building, was constructed to relieve crowding at the high school, which opened in 1990.
Mendelson, who coached wrestling and taught martial arts skills, said he'd been trained in different scenarios. When he served on the safety committee in 2008, he said he looked at the design with the tragedies like the one at Columbine High in mind.
"I wrote that I didn't think the building was safe," he said.
He said the glass on the door windows wasn't protected by wires and was less than three inches from the doorknob, making it easy for someone to shoot through the glass and open a locked door.
"Someone you're trying to keep out, if they break the window, there's no stopping them," he said.
Gunman Nikolas Cruz shot through the windows, although there's no indication he actually entered any classrooms. Some witnesses reported that he shot through walls, although it's unclear if that led to any injuries.
Mendelson made an official request for the emails on July 3, but the school district hasn't said whether it plans to fulfill the request. However, Mendelson says a journalist made an identical request in February but was denied in June, with the school district citing a security and student privacy exemption.
He said that security shouldn't be an exemption since the district has no plans to use the building again, and that the privacy exemption is bogus because there are no student names in his request.
Flynn could not be reached for comment. School district spokeswoman Tracy Clark said the district doesn't comment on "potential, pending or open litigation."
