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Paramount Unified outlines districtwide security upgrades after same‑day lockdown
Summary
District staff told the board the security program includes expanded cameras and motion sensors, Raptor visitor management, ID badges as access cards, digital lock conversions, site lockdown buttons and an emergency app; pilot sites will be completed first with full rollout targeted by mid‑2025.
Paramount Unified presented a multi‑year safety and security upgrade plan at its Oct. 9 board meeting, describing technology and staffing changes the district says will modernize campus access and incident response.
Director of Safety and Security Jesse Flores told the board the district’s inventory includes more than 850 camera views, motion‑sensor lighting, a visitor‑management system (Raptor) and a renewed approach to identification badges. Flores said the district is converting many keyed locks to a digital access‑control system so staff badges can function as keys, enable schedule‑based access and provide an audit trail of who entered which area and when.
Flores outlined additional measures: self‑check kiosks for employees, an emergency app/dashboard that can initiate and track lockdowns and evacuations, site‑level hardwired lockdown buttons that can secure classrooms within seconds, and stronger partnerships with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for threat assessments and SRO support. He said phase‑one installations (several high schools and adult/central sites) would be completed soon with districtwide completion targeted for June 30, 2025; hardware lockdown buttons are expected to be rolled out through mid‑2025 as sites are wired.
On redundancy, Flores said the access system will include battery backups that can run the system for "up to" about 30 minutes as an interim emergency measure and that the district will retain master keyways as a last resort in the event of prolonged outages. Flores emphasized that training and regular drills (including participation in the statewide ShakeOut earthquake drill) remain central to the district’s emergency plan.
Board members pressed staff on communications with families and parent participation in safety meetings after a same‑day lockdown where many parents came to a school site. Vice President Anderson asked about outage resilience and backup procedures; Flores said battery packs and master‑key fallbacks are in place and that staff practice communication protocols using radios when cell networks are unreliable.
No new board action was taken at the meeting; board members expressed support for the upgrades and asked staff to continue community outreach about new systems and incident communications.
