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Safe Schools presentation requests equipment, training and two additional mobile screening units
Summary
The Office of Safe Schools asked the Finance Committee to fund continued licensing, new cameras and training, a simulator for district drills and two additional Evolv weapon‑detection units; staff noted security staffing, licensing and per‑diem costs drive much of the department’s budget.
Michael Roan, coordinator of the Office of Safe Schools, presented staffing and budget needs for the department and asked the Finance Committee to fund continued licensing, additional cameras and training, a simulator for district drills and two more Evolv weapon‑detection screening units.
Roan said the office oversees physical security, surveillance, access control, behavioral threat assessments, emergency planning and training; staff include 17 full‑time security officers and one part‑time officer plus per‑diem/sub security staff. "We have roughly 1,200 cameras across the district," Roan said, and he outlined an audit that identifies cameras at end of life and those due for replacement. He said the office is beginning to deploy higher-resolution analytic cameras and is proposing a higher replacement cadence in 2025–26.
The proposed office budget represents roughly 1% of the district’s total budget and includes personnel, professional services, systems licensing and new equipment. Roan said licensing and software platforms (mass notification, video surveillance platform, threat‑assessment tools, visitor management) and required training — including state training under Act 67 — account for a substantial share of recurring costs.
On new equipment, Roan asked the committee to fund a training simulator that can run custom scenarios and to increase the number of mobile Evolv weapons‑detection units. The district currently operates a dual Evolv unit and two single units (presenter counted four total devices configured as one dual and two singles) and is proposing to add two more mobile units to cover multiple simultaneous events. He also described renting digital message boards used to direct traffic and reunification during large campus events and said the district seeks to purchase such a trailer‑mounted message board for campus use.
Board members asked about staffing distribution, the composition of threat‑assessment teams (Roan said they include administrators, guidance counselors, school psychologists, inclusion facilitators and school climate coordinators), the simulator’s training capabilities and whether neighboring municipalities could share simulator costs. Roan said the simulator includes prebuilt scenarios and custom scenario tools and that collaboration with local police departments would be possible.
Roan said the office plans continued camera replacement, licensing renewals and training to maintain its operations; committee members asked follow‑up questions but took no formal action at the meeting.
