Indiana District Plans $2.1 million in Security Upgrades
Clark-Pleasant Schools will spend more than $2 million on security improvements for its eight campuses, including cameras and door locks.
- By Jessica Davis
- March 25, 2019
Clark-Pleasant Schools will spend more than $2 million on security improvements and upgrades for its eight campuses, following the approval of a work bid by the school board.
Business Director Jay Staley said the district plans to add more than 500 cameras across all of its schools, more door locks and a system that will alert staff if an exterior school door is open for an extended period of time.
The move is part of the school’s efforts to improve school safety and security, following the approval of a public safety referendum that will bring in about $12 million over the course of eight years via an increase in property taxes. C-PS has said it will use those funds to increase its police presence, upgrade technology, hire mental health professionals and upgrade its security technology.
In addition to adding cameras and door locks, Clark-Pleasant Schools will upgrade other security tech.
Staley said the equipment should arrive in May and the majority of the work will take place this summer. The district plans to have the project mostly completed by fall break in October.
Extra money in the district’s rainy day fund allowed Clark-Pleasant Schools to request bids for the entire project at once, allowing them to improve security more efficiently.
“This will be all across the district,” Staley said. “We didn’t have a consistent software platform. We have multiple platforms. We wanted to migrate that to a central point. For front door access, our software is limited in the number of users. This will allow us to schedule [when] doors [are open] as needed.”
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.