Superintendent’s Corner: Sept. School Security
Superintendent’s Corner
September 2007
As it has been reported in the local newspapers, the Milton Area School District ranked at the top in the surrounding area regarding the School Violence and Weapons report that is submitted to the state annually. The district takes this report seriously and will report the data as incidents occur during the school year and code them according to the definitions identified in the state report.Even though this report may show that the district has a lot of incidents, I think it also shows that the district is addressing concerns on a day-to-day basis. Having a School Resource Officer allows the district to file charges, if necessary, on any incidents that occur in the school. It also allows for another layer of counseling to students about the severity of the offenses that are occurring in the school.
The thought is that addressing these issues in school potentially could lead to less incidents occurring outside of school due to students learning about the impact that the incidents have not only on themselves but others.
As the district moves forward into the 2007/08 school year and looks at the number of incidents occurring, one avenue to address some of those concerns was the installation of surveillance cameras at all buildings throughout the district. This will allow the district to monitor the interior and exterior of the buildings, mainly exits and areas of high incidents such as hallways and computers labs. The video cameras are designed to allow us to continue to monitor students during the course of the school day and any particular incident which may occur. Cameras will not be placed in bathrooms or locker rooms. It also provides a level of safety to students in case an incident would occur where an intruder would try to gain entry into the building. Also, it allows for an opportunity to monitor the exterior of the building so that incidents of vandalism may decrease on the district level. Signs will be posted on doors at the entrance of the buildings to inform everyone that the district is monitored by surveillance cameras.
The district will continue to look at avenues to monitor and provide a safe haven for school to allow students to get a quality education and provide a safe learning environment.
