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Board approves additional UHF radios to bolster campus safety; district to share radios with Cal Fire
Summary
Board approved purchase of additional two-way UHF radios to improve coverage on large campuses and add five radios to Cal Fire vehicles so first responders can communicate directly with school sites; presentation emphasized interagency coordination and incident-command training.
The district approved the purchase of additional two-way UHF radios at the Dec. 17 meeting to address coverage gaps on larger campuses and strengthen communications with local fire agencies.
A district safety staff member explained the decision followed a recent outage that highlighted the need for robust radio communications: the purchase will include higher-power radios for larger campuses and five units to equip Cal Fire vehicles so firefighters can communicate directly with district administration and campus staff during incidents.
The presentation described the district's broader incident-command framework: the district has adopted an incident command structure (ICS/NIMS) and is meeting with county and city partners to run trainings for elected officials and staff. The speaker also described the placement of radio repeaters at high-school sites and the operational benefit of districtwide UHF communications.
"This is essentially going to solve that problem," the district presenter said, referring to past incidents when phone and internet failures limited first-responder communication with campuses.
The motion to approve the radio purchase passed unanimously. Board members praised the partnerships with the cities and local fire and police agencies and thanked staff for safety planning and community outreach.
