Central Oregon schools budget for security upgrades

The Crook County School District is putting safety at the top of its priority list for the upcoming school year.

School board member Scott Cooper said Thursday the community made it loud and clear: Safety needs to be the district’s No. 1 priority. Because of that, the board is looking to put $500,000 toward that need.

Cooper said the funds will come from a surplus left over from last year’s budget, grant money and cash the district has been regularly setting aside for maintenance.

Some safety measure are already in place, including back courtyard enclosures and secured entrances. But there’s still a long list to tackle.

“Installing better fencing, installing better bullet-resistant glass, putting some barriers in front of the doors, installing a communications system so that buildings can talk to each other and know what’s happening in real time, a surveillance camera system, some card lock readers — just common, practical-sense things that make schools easier, better places,” Cooper said.

Cooper said there are two general types of threats to students: those that come from outside the building, which is what these changes focus on, and those that come from inside, as in other students.

“I think, if you look at the history of school violence, it mostly comes from students,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t come from outsiders. So you’d better be paying attention to whether those students have relationships. One thing I can tell you is that, in every school shooting that we have seen, we have not seen a kid who was deeply involved and engaged with their school being the perpetrator.”

Cooper said there also will be a focus on better connecting teachers with their students.

“We want to do some deep work around making sure that our staff are deeply connected to every kid and every kid has an adult mentor,” he said. In addition, a school counselor and another school resource officer will be added.

Other Central Oregon school districts also continue to work on safety issues.

Starting Monday, the Redmond School District will be uploading an app on all Chromebooks it issues to students in middle and high school that will allow students to anonymously send in tips about a variety of school safety issues. Officials are hoping use of the app will increase the number of useful tips received by district officials.

The Jefferson County School District, meanwhile, plans to set aside $107,000 for safety improvements. About one-fourth of that money will go toward new doors and cameras. The exact use of the rest of the money has not yet been determined, but officials it will be put toward safety and security.