BY TIMOTHY LA ROCHE
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — In the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Claremont School Board members are pushing for security upgrades at the city’s schools.
“Our nation was rocked by some horrific behavior,” Superintendent Middleton McGoodwin said. “I think any teacher, principal, superintendent, parent, or student felt it. I just want to try to reassure the community that the vigilance going on in our schools has been continuous, if not heightened.”
The questions of whether Claremont voters should appropriate $140,495 to install various security upgrades will appear on the March 13 ballot. School board members said on Wednesday that the ballot initiative is made timely by the shooting, but it follows months of unrelated efforts to secure funding.
The statewide Public School Infrastructure Fund covers a $561,980 match – about 80 percent of the project’s total $702,475 costs. Gov. Chris Sununu approved the state match on Feb. 9, pending the city’s vote.
If the article passes, funding will be distributed to each of the city’s six schools. Projects at Bluff Elementary School are slated to cost $98,275; Claremont Middle School costs are $177,330; Disnard Elementary School costs are $110,854; Maple Avenue Elementary School costs are $114,347; Stevens High School costs are $82,394; Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center costs are $119,275.
Upgrades covered through the project include internal and exterior surveillance cameras, electronic locking systems and classroom door shades. Upgrades for Stevens High School are less costly because the school already has classroom shades on doors and an electronic locking system.
Preliminary cost breakdowns for the items can change after a competitive bidding process, Technology Director Josh Mulloy said. If the cost of items is less than budgeted in the warrant article, the money will be returned to taxpayers through the general fund.
“I think a lot of our community is concerned about what will be our future steps in thinking about how we are going to protect our schools and make our children safe,” Vice Chair Rebecca Zullo said of continuing discussions around safety. “I think that we owe it to our students and our parents and the community to have a conversation about what that’s going to look like for us.”
If the security upgrade project passes, it will bring the schools’ security features into compliance with Federal Emergency Management Agency recommendations.
Similarly, the district is scheduled to revise it’s Emergency Operations Plan this spring for submission to the New Hampshire Department of Education. As part of the district’s emergency procedures, all classrooms have printed summaries of the Emergency Operations Plan.
The school board adopted an Emergency Response Plans policy in December 2007, aligning the district with state laws that require schools to conform to Incident Command System and National Incident Management System guidelines.
Under the policy, the superintendent is responsible for ensuring that the district conduct at least two emergency response drills each year. The district also must coordinate response plans with local law enforcement agencies.
“The two most important things in our school culture is the physical and emotional safety of children and adults,” McGoodwin said.
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