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An update on upcoming security system upgrades
12/17/2018Student and staff safety is a primary concern for Portland Public Schools. As part of the 2017 Health, Safety and Modernization Bond, approximately $5 million was allocated to upgrade school security systems across the district. That work, known as the Secure Schools Project, uses national best practice recommendations that focus on securing school perimeters and controlling access.
The project is currently in design phase with construction scheduled to begin in 2019. It will be undertaken at multiple sites simultaneously and throughout the 2019-20 school year. Here are some of the details:
Setting priorities: The first step was to create a ranking system that identified the highest priority schools based on a number of factors. These criteria were developed by the PPS Security Work Group that is made up of multi-disciplinary representatives from PPS (including security, facilities, discipline coordination and area directors) and the Portland Police Bureau’s Youth Services Division.
The highest priority schools will receive work in the first phase of the security work. The remaining schools with priority levels at medium or below will all be addressed in subsequent phases. (See the ranked list of schools)
Timeline for the work: The district will install new, or upgrade existing, electronic access control systems at each school, adding signage directing visitors to the main office to be signed in, as well as adding fences in select cases.
Design work on the highest priority schools has already begun and will be completed in early 2019. The next step is to select construction contractors. This is planned to begin in early 2019, with construction and implementation to begin in late summer 2019 and continue through the school year until complete. We estimate the installation of the electronic access control systems at each school to last approximately two weeks except for high schools, which we estimate will take four weeks.
Nature of the work: Based on best practices and available funding the district will focus on installing:
- Electronic access control systems, including video intercoms and electronic locks at the main entrance of every school. This system gives school staff the ability to see who is at the front of the building, and control who does and does not enter the site.
- Additional public address system speakers in the hallways, gym and external areas of schools if they do not have them.
- New signage to direct school visitors to the main entry way and require them to check in at the main office.
- Additional fencing and gates may also be added depending on the needs of a school site and available funding.
The projected work schedules on the security projects are subject to change based on contractor availability. The Portland construction market continues to see record growth, and qualified contractors remain in high demand. The district is working diligently to line up a number of qualified contractors for the bidding process in the Secure Schools Project.
-David Mayne, Bond Communications Manager
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