New Security Measures Coming Soon to Newton Schools

New buzzer and camera security systems will soon be making their way to Newton elementary and middle schools. 

Superintendent David Fleishman told Newton Patch this week the new systems should be installed by the end of April.

"We're moving as quickly as we can," Fleishman said.

The systems will be installed in 14 of the district's elementary schools, all four middle schools and the Education Center (where a preschool is located), Fleishman said.

The district already installed a security buzzer system at Lincoln-Eliot Elementary last year, Fleishman clarified. 

The entire project will total just over $560,000, Fleishman said, which includes costs for cameras, buzzers and keyless entries at the schools and Education Center as well as electrical work needed to install the systems. 

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The district announced its plans for the security systems in early January, just weeks after a gunman in Newtown, Conn. walked into an elementary school and killed 20 students and six adults. 

Current district policy calls for school doors to be locked during the day, except for the front (main door), which is left unlocked.

With the new systems, guests coming into the school during the day will have to be buzzed into the building from the front door. When the guest or parent buzzes at the front entrance, an image of the person at the front door will come up on computer screens in the school's main office.

Guests can communicate with a person in the front office through a speaker system at the front door, Fleishman said.

Fleishman clarified that the schools' front doors will remain unlocked during drop-off time, but any parents or visitors coming to the school after the drop-off period will have to use the buzzer and be identified by school staff before the front door is unlocked.

As part of the security installation, Fleishman said contractors have been communicating with Newton elementary and middle school principals to figure out where the best places are for security cameras.

In addition to the buzzer entry and cameras, all staff members will be issued new ID tags that will be used for keyless entry systems at the schools.

During a fiscal 2014 budget discussion earlier this week, Fleishman clarified that the costs for the security systems will come out of the district's fiscal 2013 budget.