New Trier Approves Nearly $1.3 Million In Extra Security Spending

WINNETKA, IL — New Trier High School board members Monday approved the second phase of security upgrades since administrators started looking into changes in response to the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida earlier this year. Over the past two months, the district has signed off on spending almost $1.3 million to improve security at the Northfield and Winnetka campuses, including improvements to the access control systems, an improved camera system, shatter resistant film on windows and secure entry vestibules.

Assistant Superintendent Chris Johnson said the district has made significant progress over the summer when it comes to campus security. The board had already approved a plan to spend $370,000 on vestibules at the Winnetka campus and almost $205,000 on the glass improvements at its July 16 meeting. Johnson said the district also plans to eventually have staff members monitor feeds from security cameras in real time.

At the Sept. 16 meeting, the board signed off on $700,000 in additional spending on improvements to the "access control system" on campus. District administrators have told the board the upgrades will alert school staff when doors are opened without authorization, while also allowing the safe exit of students in emergency situations. Johnson said the latest improvements would "build a foundation we can use to continue to secure our campus."

Safety drills are planned for Thursday at New Trier to prepare students for what to do in case of an emergency, Pioneer Press reported. Johnson said each class will review where students should go.

“In fourth period gym, if there’s an emergency, here’s what you do," Johnson said, according to Winnetka Talk. "The goal is to make sure the students are comfortable in all parts of the building, that they understand the signage, how we make announcements in emergencies, that they feel prepared.”

At the board's July meeting, board member Carol Ducommun pointed out members who were not on the finance committee had received limited details about the budget requests and asked for more information to be provided next time administrators make a supplemental budget request in the order of a half-million dollars.

In response to a subsequent request for information presented to the board at that meeting regarding the $575,000 in additional security spending authorized at that meeting, Johnson asserted without evidence that disclosure of the full meeting agenda packet would "reasonably be expected to jeopardize" the effectiveness or safety of the school. The Illinois attorney general's office is considering a request for review of his claim.

Unlike many boards, New Trier district administrators do not publicly disclose the materials provided to board members during meetings in open session. Under the Illinois Open Meetings Act, school boards can enter closed session at any time to discuss security procedures or building safety, but they cannot take action and spend money away from public view in executive session.

The $1,274,926 in supplemental requests for security upgrades were not included in the district's budget for capital expenses for 2019. Pioneer Press reported another $355,000 was set aside in March for upgrading surveillance videos and other equipment for security staff.

The boost to security spending follows an announcement by New Trier administrators in the spring they would evaluate safety measures after 17 students and staff were fatally shot at a school in Parkland, Florida in February. A former student has been charged with their murders, and a school resource officer assigned to the school retired and was sued for his behavior during the deadly incident.

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