Fairfield Board Of Education Seeks $355,000 For School Security

FAIRFIELD, CT — The Board of Selectpersons Monday unanimously approved a request by the Board of Education to repurpose $355,370 in FEMA reimbursement funds to allow it to spend the money on security in Fairfield Public Schools.

School district officials had received money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency "to safely mitigate the impact of the [coronavirus] pandemic," which they spent on purchasing "supplies and commodities in the form of Personal Protective Equipment," known as PPE.

With the pandemic over, the district wants to use leftover funds to help make schools safer. The Representative Town Meeting also must approve the use of the FEMA funds.

"We are working with the [Fairfield] police department, and also looking to work with security experts," Schools Superintendent Michael Testani told the Board of Selectpersons.

Testani did not elaborate on the specifics of the district's security plans, but said he has "contacts from the past" who are security experts who will make security recommendations to the district.

Testani did not name the experts, but added, "They have been vetted."

Like a lot of districts, Fairfield currently uses school resources officers as part of its security efforts.

Patch reached out to Board of Education Chair Jennifer Jacobsen for more information, but did not immediately receive a reply.

Fairfield Police Department spokesperson, Lt. Michael Paris, also did not immediately reply to a Patch request for more details.