Wake County school system leaders and a school board committee discussed priorities for security infrastructure Tuesday, while leaders also updated the committee on several safety projects
The board's Safety and Security Committee discussed the upcoming emergency response protocol, schools that serve as community emergency shelters, and potential infrastructure upgrades. Training on the emergency response protocol begins next week, ahead of implementation next school year.
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The board went into closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss potential security infrastructure upgrades, a move that's generally allowed under North Carolina law that seeks to prevent the public disclosure of security vulnerabilities.
Last week, the school board approved zeroing out a $10 million budget item this year for land purchases and repurposing it toward security infrastructure. That funding will go on top of about $20 million already in that fund.
Mark Strickland, district chief of facilities and operations, said Tuesday in an interview that the district has been spending some security infrastructure funds since a 2019 audit recommended some changes to security practices, but the fund has been growing as the board and district deliberate more expensive purchases.
The school system already uses weapons detectors at large-sized athletic and other events, though not at school front doors.
"We're looking to get more of those," Kendrick Scott, district senior director of security, told the board. After the meeting, Strickland said that expansion could be used at more events or beyond.
On Tuesday, the board outlined some security priorities, in part from a list provided by the school system, after more than half an hour of discussion, Strickland said. District officials say details of those priorities can't be disclosed out of fear of revealing security vulnerabilities.
Those priorities would be revealed in any contract the district or school board approves for those measures, as well as any requests for proposals or qualifications that may be issued by the district.
In the past -- and again in Tuesday's presentation -- the district has listed numerous security infrastructure projects, though some could cost far more than $10 million. They include installing door contacts and cameras, additional school fencing, weapons detection systems, additional security staff, additional training for students and staff, a real-time security center at the district, and another reassessment of district security structures and practices.
"It would take a good eight to ten years to do all of the things that would be prioritized by the board," Strickland said. "Moving the money around is a way to grow that funding faster."
The repurposed $10 million is part of a reprioritization at the district to reduce spending on land and technology and boost spending on security, reducing classroom trailers, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and other things.
Board Chairman Tyler Swanson noted that "school security is top of mind" in the community and that safety is often a community effort, such as the coordinated effort to encourage gun owners to safely lock their guns away when not in use.