Money from a 2006 bond referendum intended to pay for construction of a new Covington Elementary is being reallocated to fund school surveillance cameras, school lockdown technology and other district projects.
More than $15 million originally intended for construction of a new Covington Elementary on a new site near Kentwood High and Mattson Middle schools was shifted to other projects because the amount would cover only a portion of the costs. The Kent School District Board of Directors decided to release and reallocate the $15.95 million building reserve fund.
Members of the School Board discussed the reallocation of the fund during two meetings in February, with the first to approve the reallocation of funds and the second as a public hearing for the community. The School Board approved the reallocation of the funds and authorized the sale of bonds for district projects at its March 13 meeting.
The district’s Citizens Bond Review Committee proposed prioritizing 14 projects, of which six were designated as higher priority while two others were labeled as major projects.
Of the six prioritized projects, two pertain to new safety measures the district felt will help them update and improve its already extensive safety strategy.
The first project, estimated to cost $2.67 million, would replace surveillance cameras in all secondary schools and install surveillance cameras in elementary schools.
“Cameras have been something that’s been proven affective in our school system,” said Thuan Nguyen, chief information and automated operations officer for the district. “When we talk about safety and security, the reality is that there’s a lot of other safety concerns during the day that cameras can assist with.”
Safety officers, local law enforcement, and school administrators would be responsible for choosing the locations of the new cameras. All cameras would be installed in shared public places like the cafeteria or parking lots — not private spaces like classrooms or meeting rooms.
Nguyen also said that the district will look into camera monitor analytics in order to free up safety officers to perform other duties.
“We’ll be relying on the cameras’ intelligence to alert (us about) problems,” Nguyen said.
The second project prioritized by the CBRC, estimated to cost $1.72 million, concerns the technology used in ID badges for lockdowns. Potentially, staff or administrators could lock down a school “with the push of a button.” Also, the ID badges could be deactivated quickly if lost.
Another safety project the district will introduce in coming months is a texting service alerting parents, staff, and students of up-to-date district information.
Alerts from sporting event updates to safety and weather-related emergencies will be texted to those families and staff that give their cellphone numbers to the district to get the information.
The service does not cost the district any extra money as it is a feature of the already existing auto-dialer system used. The only cost associated with this service would be the rate each family’s service provider charges for the text itself.
Contact Michelle Conerly at mconerly@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 5056.
