Schools

District Making Enhancements to School Security

A $25,000 Senate grant will help improve PA systems, change door locks and increase the number of security cameras at all nine district buildings.

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Carisa Giardino, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

Garden City school officials are making security improvements to all nine district buildings thanks to a $25,000 grant secured by Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Garden City.

The Board of Education accepted the grant, with thanks, at the Sept. 17 meeting. Superintendent of schools Dr. Robert Feirsen said, "We are very grateful to the senator for that additional assistance, which certainly will be well put to use. We intend to use it to improve security in our buildings."

Several initiatives are planned:

  • Enhance PA systems in each school building.
This improvement will enable anyone in any school room with a phone, which is every classroom, to have access to the system. "For example, if there's a difficulty in any of the buildings you wouldn't have to send a messenger to the office. You can announce it on the PA system," Dr. Feirsen said. The district is actually in the process of making these changes and the work should take approximately a week to complete, according to the superintendent.

  • Change door locks so that they are easily lockable by classroom teachers.

"Many of our doors are antiquated," Dr. Feirsen said. "They are original equipment and require someone to actually take some time to lock, go outside into the corridor, lock the door and come back in which is not the best thing in an emergency."

Some locks are already being updated at Stratford School as part of the 2009 investment bond. "We hope to finish Stratford soon and move on to Stewart and move on to other buildings as well," Dr. Feirsen said.
  • Increase the number of security cameras in and around school buildings.

Nassau County is building a network of security cameras that will have direct connection to police departments. "Ultimately that will be the direction we want to take the district in so that should there be an incident in a building the officer would know where it is and perhaps who it is," Dr. Feirsen said.

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