Here’s a sampling of the safety improvements U.S. schools are implementing or considering.
The Anchorage, Alaska School District plans on spending $6.4 million on security upgrades at every public elementary, middle and high school, reports ADN.com. Improvements include panic buttons, electronically locked front doors and more video surveillance.
Waxahachie (Texas) School District Trustees last week approved plans to complete construction of secured entrances at six schools, reports WaxahachieTX.com. The schools that will receive the upgrades include Clift Elementary, Felty Elementary, Finley Junior High, Howard Junior High and Global High School.
Card entry systems and bullet proof glass will be in place by the time students return to Glastonbury (Conn.) schools this fall, reports the Hartford Courant. The board of education will also spend $315,000 for seven new security officers for the 2013-2014 school year.
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In Old Bridge, N.J., the Board of Education will spend $1.3 million on security cameras, access control and intercoms, reports Suburban.
In North Attleboro, Mass., school security protocols have been improved, reports the Sun Chronicle. Additionally, the district will pay a consultant $165,000 to conduct assessments of city buildings and analyze the school safety program.
In Ridgefield, Conn., $731,200 has been approved for expenditures on school security, reports the Ridgefield Press. Those improvements include card access control and security cameras. The town is also considering secured vestibules. It has already added eight door guards and two school resource officers.
Thirteen Worcester County (Del.) Sheriff’s deputies will be patrolling schools this year, reports DelMara Now. Most of the schools in the area have also increased the number of locked doors, as well as implemented intercom buzzer systems for visitor management.
In Hannibal, Mo., visitors to schools will now have to answer security questions upon their arrival, reports the Quincy Hearld-Whig. Letters were sent to parents notifying them of the change in policy. A key card system and new doors have been installed at Hannibal High School and Hannibal Career and Technical Center. The district may also install key card access control systems in its elementary schools.
New Hampshire schools will be spending millions on security upgrades this year, reports the New Hampshire Union Leader. Manchester schools have applied for grants for intercoms on elementary campuses. Nashua will spend $1.9 million on upgrades, including motion sensors, cameras and alarm systems. It has already installed locks on classroom doors. Additionally, adults will be required to wear ID badges. Salem is spending about $105,000 on upgrades, including intercoms, cameras and monitors. In Milford, a new fire alarm and panic alarms have been installed.
Pittsburg Community Schools have added cameras and an SRO, reports KOAM. Additional, there will now only be a single entrance/exit from the high school, and a buzzer system is in place at all of the schools.
Grandville, Mich., schools plan on spending $75 million on school security upgrades. Most of it will be spent on improving visitor management, reports WoodTV.com. Construction should start in 2014.
