Board hears security upgrades: cameras, digital radios, Raptor visitor system and grant applications

Pennsylvania County Schools security staff told the school board on Aug. 12 that the division has installed a suite of new safety tools and is pursuing additional funding to expand them. Security director Mr. Boone said most schools received equipment under the 2024 school-safety grant, including security cameras and digital bus radios for buses and at school sites. The division also moved visitor-management services from SchoolPass to Raptor Technologies after an acquisition; Boone said the new platform “maintains all the critical safety functions” and that “there has been no functionality or loss of functionality.” Boone said the division is identifying windows and other locations that need protective or ballistic film — examples listed in the meeting included high-school cafeteria windows, classroom door windows, band rooms and library and office windows at middle schools. He said leftover grant funds would be used to buy additional cameras. The security team ran a tabletop exercise on July 15 at Chatham Middle School with the Pennsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, County Emergency Services and Hirt Town Police Department to test procedures and interagency collaboration. The division is also evaluating an emergency-management system that links maps, the visitor-management system, and the adopted I Love You Guys standard response protocol to enable rapid SOS connections to first responders. Boone said the division has submitted a school-security grant application for the 2025 grant year. If funded, planned uses include adding cameras at specified schools, replacing phone systems at all four high schools and replacing intercom systems at two schools. Board members asked clarifying questions about funding and about the path to implement recommendations; Boone said administration will seek grant funds and report back as plans firm up.