BY DARRELL HALEN
The Windham School Board may hire a security consultant to review a safety committee’s report and make its own recommendations about how the town’s schools can be made safer.
School board Chairman Al Letizio, Jr. said he appreciated the work committee members put in, but also believed it was important to get some advice from a security expert.
“Before we implement anything and start spending money, I think it’s important to get some professional input,” Letizio said at a July 10 workshop meeting.
The school district’s staff will explore how much it would cost to bring in a consultant.
The committee was headed by Beth McGuire, the principal of Golden Brook School. The group includes a school nurse, police officer, Fire Department inspector, School Board member, parents and educators.
The group was formed after two parents raised concerns about school safety. The group has recommended that a pass card system be installed at each school.
Employees would swipe a card to enter the school, while visitors would have to ring a buzzer, state the purpose for their visit and be “buzzed” into the building. Activity at the door would be recorded by a digital video camera.
The group has also recommended the following:
• Establish a policy for hours of use that would determine when the schools would be completely locked down and how public access would be handled after school hours.
• Install and upgrade outdoor lighting at each school.
• Make security and safety a top priority in all future school construction.
• Determine how many automated external defibrillators – devices used to check a person’s heart rhythm and deliver a shock – should be placed at each school and install them.
• Ensure that safety equipment at each school is well maintained.
• Conduct staff training in areas that include the controlled access system and incident command training.
• Review school emergency plans to ensure consistency throughout the school district.
• Seek grants for staff training on security and safety initiatives.
• Inform parents and others of measures being taken to ensure safety, while keeping certain elements of plans confidential.
• Conduct a school safety week in October.