CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County commissioners unanimously approved a school safety plan Tuesday night presented by Clayton Wilcox, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
[CMS makes school safety its top priority]
Tuesday night, Mecklenburg County commissioners approved a $9 million school safety plan for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. But, with any device plugged in and connected to the internet, there are security concerns.
The $9 million plan includes enhanced video surveillance inside and outside schools, panic card alarms, visitor management systems, electronic locks, classroom cameras, and new gates and entryways.
Charlotte East Language Academy, one of the newest Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, is going to benefit from the security improvements.
Randall Brunston's son is about to go to arguably one of the most secure schools in the state.
“Hearing about that makes me feel a little better about my son going to school,” Brunston said.
The East Charlotte K-8 school is the pilot for the new school security plan for which the county commissioners approved funding.
Over the next couple of weeks, the district will start rolling out the upgrades, including panic alarms on staff lanyards and cameras inside the classrooms.
During emergencies, local law enforcement officers will be able to track movement in real time, a crucial upgrade in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where police were monitoring a delayed feed.
“It's the difference between lives saved and lives lost, literally,” local security expert Ross Bulla said.
Just like any online device, there are hacking worries, concerns brought up by Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour
“Anything that is plugged into the internet can be theoretically be hacked, right?,” Ridenhour said.
Wilcox said that in addition to the school's information technology department, a third party will be protecting the feed from suspicious activity.
“People are always looking to do harm,” Wilcox said.
Other than saying Charlotte East will be first, CMS is declining to name all of the schools that are receiving the upgrades.
Wilcox said the school camera technology is being modeled after a system put in place in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
CMS already has access to half of the funds needed for Phase II of the plan. The county voted to release the remaining money, $4.5 million, from a contingency fund so CMS can put Phase I in place.
“There are a lot of issues that keep me up at night, I will tell you,” Wilcox said. “The idea of school safety for 150,000 young people and 19,000 employees is probably the heaviest burden I wear.”
SECURITY PLAN PHASE 1:
- $1.75 million for video surveillance of portable classrooms and outside venues.
- 20 high schools will get enhanced video surveillance valued at $100,000.
- The school district is also purchasing $250,000 worth of panic card alarms.
- $600,000 worth of visitor management systems.
- All schools will get more electronic locks, valued at $1.8 million.
The new video surveillance technology will provide a high-quality feed that can be accessed in real time by CMS administrators and local law enforcement. The panic card alarms will allow a teacher or employee to press a button a designated number of times to alert law enforcement during a serious threat like an active shooter situation.
The first fully integrated system is expected to be at Charlotte East Language Academy, which means not only common spaces will be monitored by cameras but also classrooms.
Wilcox said having this upgraded technology in classrooms in addition to hallways and gyms will benefit police during emergency situations.
"We can make available real-time video so as they come on our site, they know what they'll see, they'll know where to go," Wilcox said.
Wilcox warned commissioners that the plan is not perfect.
“Anybody who is suffering from mental illness and has a grievance that they feel they need to solve with a gun is not going to be predictable,” Wilcox said.
County commissioners largely praised CMS for the security plan. District 2 Rep. Vilma Leake warned Wilcox that safety is his responsibility.
“If something goes wrong, I’m coming at you,” Leake said.
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