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Hillsborough County schools describe layered safety plan, employee alert badges and stronger law-enforcement ties
Summary
John Newman, chief of security for Hillsborough County Public Schools, told the district podcast that the system relies on personnel, physical hardening and a district-wide Syntegic employee alert badge that routes calls to 911 centers, administrators and law enforcement; he also highlighted threat-management teams, student advisory input and parent guidance.
John Newman, chief of security and emergency management for Hillsborough County Public Schools, told the district podcast that school safety rests on a multilayered model that combines people, physical hardening and technology to protect students and staff.
"Safety and security is everyone's responsibility," Newman said. He described a set of background measures — cameras, gates and access control — that work alongside personnel and an employee alert badge system called Syntegic, which he said routes an alert to 911 centers, campus administrators and law enforcement to provide fast, location-specific response.
The approach, Newman said, aims to avoid turning schools into correctional facilities while ensuring that "every second counts" when help is needed. He noted the district adopted the Syntegic technology…
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