NORTH CANTON: The Board of Education has approved the purchase of digital radios and antennas as part of a district-wide safety and security initiative.
Locks for classroom doors at North Canton Middle School also will receive priority.
During a town hall meeting in January, Superintendent Michael Hartenstein and city police Chief Steven Wilder emphasized that communication at all levels is key to effective school safety.
Hartenstein estimated the equipment cost at $100,000, adding that the expenditure was not factored into the 2013 budget. But voters this month approved the district’s first permanent improvement levy dedicated exclusively to upgrades in safety and security as well as technology, school buses and building maintenance.
The 2.4-mill levy is expected to generate $1.44 million annually. The district will begin receiving levy revenue next year.
North Canton has been funding academics as well as infrastructure from the general fund.
Some doors at the middle school cannot be locked from inside the classroom.
With digital radios, staff would be able to alert everyone in a building, as well as police, of an intruder. The police department constantly will monitor a dedicated channel for the schools and will know the location of an intruder and which areas to evacuate quickly.
Other safety precautions under consideration are door buzzers and video monitors at main entrances to Hoover High School and the middle school, as well as security vestibules at elementary schools and security cameras and key-card entry at all buildings.