Security will play role in school budget

Dortenzio: Don’t panic; make upgrades in a thoughtful way

As published in the Record Journal Wednesday January 9, 2013

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD - Money for security upgrades will be included in the budget proposal School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo unveils next week, school officials confirmed Tuesday.

They would not, however, discuss specifics.

“It’s definitely going to play a role,” Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay said. “But there has to be a confidential nature to what we’re talking about.”

Several security upgrades have already been approved by school officials, including installing buzzer systems at the town’s two high schools. Menzo said staff will be issued photo identification cards necessary to gain access to the schools.

Other security upgrades will be coming, but Menzo said he is still having discussions with the school board and is also waiting to hear recommendations from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Sandy Hook Advisory Commission. The commission will present a report to the state legislature by March 15.

School board member Chet Miller said last month that proposals in Wallingford ranged from security cameras to alarm systems that would trigger if someone gained unauthorized access to a school.

McKay, Menzo, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. and Police Chief Douglas Dortenzio were among about 850 in attendance at a symposium on school security held this week at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville. Dortenzio and McKay said presenters warned against costly, knee-jerk reactions to last month’s deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

“The legacy of Newtown should be that changes need to occur over time and be thoughtfully designed and laid out,” Dortenzio said.

But time is of the essence for school officials. Menzo will present the first draft of his proposed 2013-14 school year budget to the Board of Education on Monday. Any upgrades school officials hope to start work on this year must be included in the proposal.

McKay said including a line item in the budget for security upgrades will give school officials flexibility and won’t lock them into any particular purchases. She didn’t expect Monday’s budget presentation to go into specifics on security.

While some school districts statewide have proposed stationing a police officer or armed security guard at every school, Dortenzio said it simply isn’t practical.

“You have to keep your eye on the ball,” he said. “A school is supposed to be a learning environment. Having armed teachers, armed guards ... you’re turning it into a correction facility. That’s not the way to go.”

Since the Newtown massacre, Menzo said he has been inundated with emails from companies offering security products. School staff are working with the district’s security company, as well as parents with a law enforcement or security background, to vet the companies and make decisions about purchases.

In addition to new purchases, Menzo said, it’s important to keep up with current security protocols and make sure the climate of each of the town’s schools is one that makes students feel safe. These types of changes don’t necessarily come with a cost, Menzo said.

“There’s that social and emotional half,” he said. “It’s two layers, the technical piece and the culture and climate piece.”

Dortenzio said the safety symposium focused on things that can be done to make schools safer, not just on planning for a calamity such as what occurred in Newtown.

“There are realistic and reasonable things we can do in our district to provide further comfort and safety in the schools,” McKay said.

Dortenzio said parents shouldn’t have any reservations about sending their children to school.

“Our schools are still the safest place for kids to be during the day,” he said.

Monday’s Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Lyman Hall High School Vo-Ag Community Room.