NASHVILLE, Tenn. - While many districts are asking county leaders
for more money to upgrade security, the Metro Nashville Schools has
learned it will have to pay for the improvements from its own bank account.
In a letter, Mayor Karl Dean has urged school leaders to shift money
already earmarked for other projects to complete the security upgrades.
"Go ahead and do these things. Please do them, do
them as fast as you can," Mayor Dean said about his message to the Metro School
Board. "Use money that's already been appropriated for other projects and then
we'll make up that money later when we can do another budget."
Metro has identified four high priority projects.
"We would not have been able to phase these
security protocols in for eight to ten years," Tony Majors, Assistant
Superintendent for Student Services said.
The plan includes making sure all schools have technology that allows
staff to screen visitors before allowing them into the building. The district
wants to change the locks on classroom doors that will allow teachers to
lock them from both the inside and outside. School leaders will also install or
upgrade the district's closed circuit security camera system.
Student Services Director Tony Majors says, "The benefit of moving to a
digital system is that allows us to link to ( the Office of Emergency Management),
to the police department so they will actually have access to our system in the
event of an emergency. That greatly decreases response time (and) lag
time."
It will cost the Metro Schools nearly $5.5 million, which will come out of
the building and maintenance budget. School leaders don't expect it will
delay projects that will temporarily lose funding to accommodate the new
requests.
Mayor Dean said any delays will be taken into account, when Metro Schools
presents its budget proposal to the city this spring.
