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Kenosha school board approves layered safety measures, directs funding study for secure entrances at seven schools
Summary
The Kenosha Unified School Board approved a package of safety recommendations including locked/classroom-closed practice, Raptor visitor management, continued door monitors at seven schools, and contracts for online threat monitoring. The board also directed administration to return in August with funding options for controlled entrances at seven named schools.
The Kenosha Unified School Board on July 22 approved a set of safety measures recommended by its KUSD Safety Committee and directed administrators to study funding options for secure entrances at seven schools.
Administration presented a two-part package: no-cost operational changes and nominal-cost measures to maintain or improve campus security. No-cost items approved include a new expectation that classroom doors remain closed and locked while rooms are occupied except for ingress or egress, standardized school-level cell-phone procedures approved by the office of school leadership, the consistent use of the Raptor visitor management system, and a multiyear review of classroom "hard corner" readiness. Bill Haycock, who presented the committee—s update, said those steps are intended to improve day-to-day layering of protections while administrators pursue longer-term capital solutions.
The board also approved nominal-cost measures to be funded as identified: continuing part-time door-monitor positions at seven schools that lack controlled entrances, developing a policy to permit administrators and deans to use metal-detecting wands under a reasonable-suspicion standard (subject to a future board vote on the policy), an annual contract with Safer Schools Together for worrisome-online-behavior monitoring (estimated at about $22,000), and pursuing a Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety critical-incident stabilization grant of up to $120,000 for cameras, monitors, buzzer systems and related hardware.
During discussion board members asked for estimates of capital costs and non-referendum funding options for controlled entrances. A friendly amendment that the administration bring back funding options for the seven schools (Bose, Curtis Strange, Forest Park, Harvey, Jeffrey, Lance and Whittier) at the August meeting was added to the motion and accepted. The motion passed by voice vote.
Board members stressed the distinctions between immediate operational changes and longer-term capital projects. Several members noted staffing challenges for door monitors and said administration should quantify ongoing personnel costs and identify likely funding sources before implementing capital measures.
The administration also said it will investigate additional hardware measures such as expanded camera views, exterior door latch monitoring and safety film for elementary school entrances as potential grant-funded or budgeted improvements.
Next steps: administration will return to the board in August with funding options and cost breakdowns for secure entrances at the seven named schools and will draft the metal-wand search policy for future consideration.
