Carroll County Public Schools will have an additional $325,000 to spend on security initiatives after the Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted to make the capital budget transfer Thursday.
The decision came after hearing from Assistant Superintendent of Administration Jonathan O'Neal at the board's morning meeting. Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier, R-District 1, was the only commissioner who voted against the transfer. The money will be given to the Board of Education in early January.
O'Neal presented to the board a list of security measures that are already in place at some schools but are at varying levels of completion throughout the school system's 43 buildings.
The document discussed the cost of the measures. Before they voted, he said if funding were to become available from the commissioners, he believed the school system would first focus on installing the buzzer and camera visitor management systems in all buildings. The systems are currently at eight schools.
At the earlier meeting, O'Neal said a possible $300,000 wouldn't complete all the security measures on the list, but it would step up the school system's pace on implementing some of them.
It would cost an estimated $650,000 to install the systems at all schools without integrating them into the new fiber network. The Carroll County Public Network is on track to be completed in early 2013 and will be 110 miles long and connect 132 sites, including the county's public schools, the public library branches, and Carroll Community College.
To integrate the systems into the fiber network, including the eight schools that currently have the system without integration into the network, it would cost about $950,000.
O'Neal also announced Superintendent of Schools Steve Guthrie's intent to recommend the Board of Education vote to form a school security committee to discuss other initiatives and recommend appropriate security measures, he said. Based on that list, more funds may be needed, he said.
Usually the Board of Education would have deliberated before the discussion with the commissioners occurred, but there has not yet been an opportunity to do that. O'Neal said based on funding that is received, a priority list of schools and specific measures to be taken would be developed.
After O'Neal said the priority will be placed on all elementary schools receiving the camera and buzzer systems, Commissioner Doug Howard, R-District 5, expressed concern that all schools should be equipped with the visitor management systems.
"If we say this is something we need, we need it 43 times over," he said.
Frazier said she thought the school system was already looking at school security and spending money on it at the rate that it is a priority.
"I just want to make sure we're not rushing forward because it's a high emotional time," she said.
O'Neal said that schools continually review their emergency procedures, conduct training and practice responding to emergency situations. The school system is also installing more surveillance systems, is looking into a badge system for visitors and temporary employees and plans to add more cameras to buses.
Commissioner Richard Rothschild, R-District 4, said he believes the real issue is that school staff is defenseless. He suggested that perhaps teachers should have Tasers or some other sort of limited defensive capability.
"I'm worried we're going to do this and we're creating a false sense of security with this," he said, adding that he does not believe this will remedy the real issue.
Howard said the camera and buzzer systems are the next logical step to enhancing security.
"This request alone justifies the decision," he said. "There's a lot that's being done, it's just this would be the next level."
The commissioners discussed how the school system would need to contribute the remaining funds for the system installations. The Board of Education's next meeting is 5 p.m. Jan. 9.
