Oneida schools report gym project timeline, classroom lock concerns and new security systems

District facilities and safety staff updated the Oneida Special School District Board on construction, security and safety upgrades at the Nov. 1 meeting.

On the gym renovation at the high school, staff said the contractor’s contract allows 270 days from Aug. 1 for completion, which staff calculated as a drop‑dead date of April 27 "without penalty." Staff cautioned that occupancy would require final approval from the fire marshal; they also said they expect the facility could be usable sooner and noted they are waiting on HVAC subcontractors to finish punch-list items.

Safety assessments conducted by homeland security and the state safety consultant found most checklist items matched district responses but noted classroom doors in some buildings are not lockable from the inside. Staff reported they replaced locks at the middle school using existing grant funding and are hopeful a pending federal grant would allow installation of a key‑card system that would keep classroom doors locked while allowing authorized access.

The district reported using a Public School Safety Grant of about $26,000 to fence the middle‑school playground. Separately, the district purchased Evolve weapon‑detection systems and Rapid radios for each school and every bus with support from a Rural Health Care Grant. Staff said the Evolve system will be used for entry screening at athletic events; they noted most alerts so far were triggered by student binders, eyeglass cases, laptops or umbrellas, not weapons.

The district also plans to install Rapid radios — Wi‑Fi‑based radios — on buses and in buildings to improve staff communications in an emergency.

District staff said they will not occupy the gym until the fire marshal gives approval and that they will continue to monitor timelines and grant availability for classroom lock upgrades.