Security upgrades coming to several schools
Updated: February 20, 2013
URBANA -- New security measures will be in place at several schools next school year, but exact plans are confidential.
Five elementary schools will see upgrades. And more cameras will be added to the high school and middle school.
The district's facilities' director, Ota Dossett, says security changes happen every year, and wherever they see room for improvement, they act on it. The only changes where the district was specific involved the high and middle schools.
They are already equipped with security cameras and have been for several years. But the director says there are some areas in the buildings that aren't as visible to those cameras as they should be.
He also says some simply need to be upgraded. Asked if any changes were related to the Connecticut school shooting last December, Dossett replied:
As tragic as that is, that situation was, this helps
you focus on things that you might chose to do
sooner than later. I think it's prudent for all school
district to be as secure as they can be.
Upgrading security cameras will cost $100,000. The upgrades to the elementary schools could cost up to $117,000. The school board will sell bonds to raise $3 million.
The decision was approved at Tuesday night's meeting. That money will pay for these projects and others. The finance director says homeowners should not see a tax increase because of it.
The district's facilities' director, Ota Dossett, says security changes happen every year, and wherever they see room for improvement, they act on it. The only changes where the district was specific involved the high and middle schools.
They are already equipped with security cameras and have been for several years. But the director says there are some areas in the buildings that aren't as visible to those cameras as they should be.
He also says some simply need to be upgraded. Asked if any changes were related to the Connecticut school shooting last December, Dossett replied:
As tragic as that is, that situation was, this helps
you focus on things that you might chose to do
sooner than later. I think it's prudent for all school
district to be as secure as they can be.
Upgrading security cameras will cost $100,000. The upgrades to the elementary schools could cost up to $117,000. The school board will sell bonds to raise $3 million.
The decision was approved at Tuesday night's meeting. That money will pay for these projects and others. The finance director says homeowners should not see a tax increase because of it.
