Superintendent: School Security is a Priority [Update]

While there is some room for improvement, the South Windsor public schools are safe and secure. That was the message sent last week during the beginning of the Board of Education's monthly meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kate Carter told board members that contrary to a comment made during a recent Town Council meeting, the education department had not chosen "to fund full day kindergarten in lieu of school security."

"That is simply not accurate and I am not sure why this was stated since I have been clear at previous public meetings about why school security was not found in the operating budget that was proposed in January," Carter said at the start of the April 23 meeting.

"Among other threats to our school security, is the promulgation of misinformation. It is essential that our students and families know that the safety of our children is always our top priority," she added.

During the council's recent deliberations on whether to approve the $68.12 million education budget, Town Councilor Dr. Saud Anwar said he was concerned that funding for school security improvements were not included in the proposal, and instead in the general government's capital improvement plan. (The council approved the budget, including funding for full day kindergarten.)

In a blog posted on the site the next day, Anwar wrote that his primary reason for not voting "yay" during the roll call was that he thinks the education budget should have been subject to a public hearing and is concerned about the affect the overall municipal budget will have on taxpayers.

"All of us want our fine educational system to continue to service students in the best way possible. But the Town Council has to make some difficult choices. Increasing the tax burden, in current economy, is not sustainable," Anwar wrote.

"Without a comprehensive plan and strategy to address demographic patterns, prioritize needs and listening to the residents, we cannot make informed decisions. I support full-day kindergarten and our special education programs. We have not yet discussed increasing security for our schools. Surely, this program will need to be funded. The safety of our children is our first priority. We are already behind in fulfilling our Police Department’s requested personnel needs. The town infrastructure needs improvement. The list goes on," he wrote.

At the school board meeting, Carter said funding for school security enhancements were not included in the 2013-14 education budget because the budget document was completed in December, the same month as the tragic school shootings in Newtown.

"We did not make last minute changes based on the kind of security improvements we anticipated, as we recognized that most of our requests would more appropriately fall into the capital projects category and stated as such at our January budget presentation as well as at subsequent capital projects committee meetings," she said.

Carter said that South Windsor schools have many security measures already in place, perhaps more than what is available in neighboring school districts. These include the presence of school resource officers, security personnel and buzzer entry systems, among others.

For the past few months, the school district has conducted an internal review of its security systems, as well as worked with South Windsor Chief of Police Matthew Reed. On April 23, Carter said that she's just received Reed's review of the system.

Without going into detail, Carter said some changes could include improving the internal locking mechanisms, increasing cameras on school property and expanding security systems on the exterior of the buildings.
 
On May 28, the school board is expected to discuss just how it will fund those projects. Carter said that there might be several options for funding, including:

• State LOCIP grant funding, money that is given to municipalities annually for local capital improvement projects;
• Town capital improvement fund; or
• Surplus funding from the current education budget.