[June 10, 2011] Grant money may beef up school security Tweet Jun 10, 2011 (Newton Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A child's safety is often among the top priorities for parents. As soon as kids are able to walk and talk, they're taught not to take candy from strangers and the importance of avoiding riding in cars with people they don't know. But when it comes to sending their child to school, there's only so much a parent can do to keep him or her safe. The rest is up to the district administrators. The Newton Community School District is taking steps to bulk up security on school campuses, starting by applying for a COPS Secure Our Schools (SOS) grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The application has been prepared in conjunction with the Newton Police Department per requirements of the DOJ and was approved for submittal at Monday night's Newton City Council meeting. The SOS grant program has roughly $13 million available to help law enforcement agencies assist schools in improving campus security, according to the DOJ website, www.cops.usdoj.gov. Gayle Isaac, the district's director of business services, said, "We are just trying to enhance the security of the school buildings. Obviously, with the tight budget, I've been looking at alternative funding for these security enhancements. The high school has been asking for more modern security cameras, and in talking with the Newton police, the state police ... listening to their wise counsel and then also talking to school districts around the state, more and more recommendations are that you tighten up the school district." Isaac indicated that not all school buildings in the district have adequate security systems or necessarily any kind of security in place at all, but he declined to mention specifics. It is his hope that, if the NCSD is able to obtain grant money, that situation can be changed. "We're used to having free access into the school buildings," Isaac said. "In today's society, the law enforcement community is recommending we make it more difficult to walk into the building. They're recommending that all the doors be secured or locked and requiring only one entrance into a building. Also, they're recommending that school buildings have the ability to immediately lock down the school building." Grant money from the DOJ could allow most Newton schools to have beefed up security, including closed circuit television and monitoring systems as well as a card reader access system for school doors and entrances. "Not only can we have surveillance cameras in the school, but the idea is once these cameras are installed in these schools we can then give the police department access to these cameras," Isaac said. "So, the SRO sitting in the high school could be viewing the cameras over at TJ and be seeing what's going on over at TJ and all other schools just from the SRO office." In worst case scenarios, Isaac said, any law enforcement arriving at a school could actually access the school's surveillance system from a laptop computer in the squad car to monitor a situation before entering the school. Although the proposed security system may be more high-tech than Newton is used to, "My big concern is the safety of our kids," Isaac said. "I don't want people to think I'm paranoid, I just want to do my due diligence to provide the best security for our students' safety." Johnson Controls, a nationwide company, gave the district a quote of $858,610 for the project. According to the terms of the grant, the district would be responsible for matching half, or $429,305. "If we are awarded a grant, we would probably not go that full $800,000 because we would have difficulty coming up with the matching funds," Isaac said. "Once you are given the award, you can lower the level to an amount where you can match funds. This project is able to be scaled down." If the SOS grant is awarded to the district, next steps include opening the project up for bidding to find the most reasonable price and planning the installation. "I think it's a great program and I'm glad the schools and police department are working together to get this because both of our goals is the safety of the students and faculty," said Newton Police Chief Jeff Hoebelheinrich. "I still think we've got the best schools with the greatest teachers and administrators, and I really hope that we're able to get the grant." To see more of the Newton Daily News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newtondailynews.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Newton Daily News, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]