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The school at 301 East St. will soon be demolished, and the Clinton School District and local police and fire departments thought to use the building for the exercises.

“I approached the Clinton Police Department, and officer Aaron Walz helped coordinate this effort with local emergency services to be able to use the space,� Clinton School District Administrator Jim Brewer said. “This opportunity allows the police to train with actual security locked doors and windows present at schools. The departments don’t have to worry about damaging anything.�

Last week Wednesday, the Clinton Police Department, the Janesville SWAT team and the Janesville Fire Department trained in the school building.

“It is rare to get an opportunity to use an actual school in these training exercises, especially one that is no longer in use,� Clinton Police Chief Mike Schultz said. “Nobody seems to mind when we break walls or doors if the building will be demolished in the coming weeks.�

The Clinton Police Department only planned to use the facility Wednesday, but Janesville emergency departments will be returning for more training in coming days. The Rock County SheriffÃÛèÖÊÓƵ Office was also invited to participate, but it wasn’t clear if it would be able to send personnel for training.

“We heard about this opportunity from Walz, who we previously worked with on regional training exercises,� Janesville Deputy Police Chief Chad Pearson said. “It is a rare opportunity and helps better equip our teams with the experience and training if an active threat at a school occurs.�

“We will also be participating in an ALICE drill at the Clinton Junior/Senior High School on Monday,� Schultz said, using an acronym for “alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate� training. “Drills like these help with gaining a familiarity for the environment in case of an active threat.�