Sep 7, 2018 4 min read

Greene County school administrators said they’ll be able to spend more money on classroom supplies and other educational needs thanks to grants released by the county commissioners earmarked for school security measures.

The commissioners approved six $50,000 grants using the county’s Act 13 funds to each of the five school districts and the Career and Technology Center to help them fund safety and security initiatives.

“Literally, it puts money back in for the kids,” Carmichaels Area Superintendent Fred Morecraft said after the meeting.

The district already had some plans in place for security spending, he said, so that money can now be moved back into programming for students. He said the district had several ideas, including door locks, cameras and fencing.

Commissioner Blair Zimmerman said the decision was a “no-brainer” to protect the single most important asset: the community’s children. The commissioners have been discussing the move for the last couple months, and Zimmerman said he looked forward to walking through the schools to see how each district utilized the funds.

Several school administrators attending the meeting mentioned they would like outside evaluations to determine priorities for security spending, adding they had plans to make safety upgrades with other potential funding sources.

“We understand the challenges to your budget,” Commissioner Dave Coder said before the motion was unanimously approved.

Coder added in recent talks with U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the agency is willing to do building assessments at no cost.

Annette Vietmeier, director of academic accountability and innovation at Central Greene, said the district is looking forward to taking advantage of the free assessment. She added the district recently conducted its own risk assessment and would use the funds to address a list of priorities, including cameras and other updated security equipment. With time, safety tools can become outdated, she said, so there is always more that can be done to protect students.

At the Career and Technology Center, the current video surveillance system is difficult to use and outdated, with several lines going bad, said Mark Krupa, the school’s administrative director. He wants to have an evaluation of the building conducted, but said some of the equipment was on his radar to repair or replace anyway. He also said he was considering training for their school officer.

Districts should soon hear back about their grant applications for the state’s Safe Schools funding. The bill was approved in June to administer $60 million statewide to fund improvements for a wide range of uses, including building assessments, new technology, training, counselors and officers or programs to combat violence. With a guaranteed sum, though, Jefferson-Morgan Superintendent Joseph Orr said he could use the county’s money to implement some of the items outlined in their Safe Schools application, such as a safety officer or other equipment. Orr said he was surprised and grateful for the grant.

Southeastern Greene Superintendent Richard Pekar said he hoped to perform an evaluation of both of the district’s buildings before deciding on what to use the funds for. He thought a professional opinion of what might be necessary would be helpful. Initial ideas include upgrading the camera system at the elementary and door alarms at the high school.

Community education programs to inform parents and other residents of how to be safer might be one use of the grant at West Greene. Superintendent Brian Jackson said they have several options in mind, including upgraded building doors, an open-door alert system, new locks and camera systems.

Zimmerman said whatever districts decide to do, he hopes the efforts never need to come into play.

“It’s not a million dollars, but it should make a difference,” he said.

Other motions approved during Thursday’s meeting included:

• A proposal from Blue Archer, a Pittsburgh-based web design and development firm, for $66,696 for website strategy design and development to retool the county’s online presence. Chief clerk Jeff Marshall said during the meeting the final price should be lower.
• A change order for work on the Fort Jackson building, which Marshall said should be complete in about two weeks and ready for a final walk-through.
• A change order for final contract items for the airport access road project.