Harrison Central adopts districtwide safety plan after public hearing

The Harrison Central School District Board of Education approved the districtwide safety plan for the 2025–26 school year following a public hearing and presentations by district staff.

District staff said the plan combines infrastructure upgrades and expanded training to improve emergency response and daily safety measures. "We actually have just, almost 300 cameras in our district," a district presenter said, and staff described new door controls, dynamic floor plans for first responders and an expansion of training programs.

The district presented the safety effort as two complementary tracks: "infrastructure readiness and human readiness," the presenter said, noting man‑trap visitor controls at school entrances, door‑ajar alerts for exterior doors and centrally accessible floor plans for Harrison Police Department, county and state police. The presenter said the district conducts more than 12 drills at each school annually and will run a reunification exercise ahead of Thanksgiving.

The board was told each school also maintains a confidential, site‑specific safety plan; the districtwide plan is a public document posted on the district website and shared by email. District staff said those school plans will be updated and submitted to the state education department by September.

The plan also expands training: the board was told 70 faculty and staff will receive CPR and AED certification to align with recently passed New York State requirements on cardiac emergency response plans. District staff said the district already has AEDs in place and will review the new state law to ensure full compliance.

Officials described partnerships with local law enforcement as central to the plan. The presenter thanked the Harrison Police Department and named Lieutenant Kevin Wong and Captain Bill Curau for their role; staff said police will have secure access to dynamic floor plans and certain camera feeds to speed emergency response.

Board members closed the public hearing and approved the safety plan by voice vote as part of the administrative report.

The district emphasized that some operational details remain confidential to avoid revealing sensitive security information, and staff said they will continue to update practices and technology in response to new guidance and lessons learned.

The board will file the updated school plans with the state and continue to brief the public on the districtwide, public safety plan.