Financial Incentive to Move Quickly on Madison School Security Upgrades

The Source’s Jack Kramer has some important details about the planned $472,000 security upgrade for the Madison Public Schools.

Kramer writes that town officials are hoping that $141,000 or 30 percent of the total cost would be reimbursed by the state of Connecticut.

Additionally, in order for the town to get state reimbursement the project has to completed by June 1, so the clock is ticking on the project.

Read the full Source story here.

Here is some background about the funds and what work would be done to improve school security.

Madison officials are asking residents in January to vote on whether to spend $472,000 to support school security initiatives, which includes enhancing school security cameras in the schools.

According to the town’s website:

The Legal voters of the Town of Madison are hereby warned and notified that a Special Town Meeting will be held on Monday, January 12, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Polson School Auditorium for the following purpose:

To consider and take action on Special Appropriation request of $472,000 from the Board of Education to support school security initiatives.

Here is some background about school security plans:

The Madison Board of Education plans to beef up its school security including expanding its security camera program to monitor the schools, and to vastly upgrade the phone systems, according to meeting minutes.

Here is a summary of the school security discussion according to minutes of a joint Board of Sellectman, Board of Finance, and Board of Education meeting.

Superintendent Tom Scarice discussed the different costs associated with this plan and stated that the primary projects have to do with an expansive security camera program to monitor the schools.

The second phase of the plan is to upgrade the phone systems in the classrooms from the older intercom systems currently installed.

The security grant already in place credited the town with a 30% return rate for projects done since January 1, 2014. The proposed projects have a potential of $141,000 +/- in reimbursements. However, the work has to be done by June 30,2015, meeting minutes state.

Mr. Pudlin asked for the relative cost of the two projects and Mr. Sickle indicated that the cameras are roughly 2/3 of the cost of the overall project.

Mr. Pudlin asked for clarification on the monitoring of the camera system and Mr. Scarice indicated it would be done in-house.

Mr. Scarice also stated that Police Chief Jack Drumm would be consulted on the plan and implementation of the upgrades.

Mr. Sickle also stated that the security camera plan is an integration of the current security camera systems for the town.

First Selectman McPherson stated that the Board of Selectmen will discuss and take action on the request at their meeting on Monday, December 15th and then if the Board of Finance passes it at their meeting on December 17th the Board of Selectmen will call a Town Meeting for the second week of January.

Mr. Wilson asked if these projects were necessary for the security plan regardless of whether they were done now. Mr. Scarice stated that these plans are part of the overall plan that the Board of Education had enacted. These items were not added to the security plan, but the necessity to do them now is because of the reimbursement program from the state.