All Findlay School buildings getting security upgrade

All 12 Findlay City School buildings will soon be outfitted with a SafeDefend Active Shooters Response System, the first in the state of Ohio, according to school board President Matt Cooper. The district's board of education voted 5-0 Monday in regular session to approve an $887,050 contract for the system, offered by a company based in Olathe, Kansas. The contract also includes a yearly maintenance fee of $18,000. The district plans to pay for the system out of its permanent improvement funds. Treasurer Pam Harrington said grants, financing and donations may help offset the cost of the system. In recent discussions with the Findlay Police Department and officials from the city of Findlay, Cooper said "closing the response gap" is critical. SafeDefend utilizes multiple ways of communication in the event of an active shooter crisis as well as provides staff with crisis management options and training, including but not limited to defensive force and first aid. Each classroom and large common space throughout the district will be equipped with a safety box in classrooms and activation modules for hallways. The system provides instant notification in multiple ways in cases of an active shooter or life-threatening crisis. Once a staff member activates the device, an instant notification is sent to dispatch along with a text message, email and voice alert over the PA that is sent to all law enforcement officers, firefighters and staff within that building, and to administration across the district. The system identifies the exact location of the crisis down to the school and specific room where the system was activated. SafeDefend has been installed in over 300 schools in nine states and their team has trained over 20,000 teachers and staff on best practices for crisis management and active shooter response. More information about the system is available on the company's website, www.safedefend.com Lt. Andrew Welch of the Findlay Police Department addressed the board on Monday, thanking them for considering the system, which he said "cuts through the chaos" when an incident occurs and the calls for help go out. He said in an emergency, dispatchers are bombarded with panicked phone calls and must try to determine what's happening and where. He said the technology "eliminates the chaos on the other end of the phone," and saves time. "We're really talking about immediate response time," Welch said. Welch said the police department has spent the past two weeks combing through district buildings, learning layouts and making changes to prep classrooms in the event of an emergency. He thanked the district for the access to the buildings. The board voted in July to grant the Findlay Police Department access to district security cameras. It will be up to the police department to decide when access to the cameras is warranted "to assist in thwarting" a significant threat, according to the agreement. The police department will be permitted to monitor the exterior of the district's school buildings, including real-time footage and video recordings, at any time, according to the agreement. Access to interior cameras would only be permitted in the case of a threat or call for help. The agreement also asks that credentials to access the cameras be shared with the fewest police department employees as possible, and that internal cameras only be accessible from the department's dispatch center or mobile command center. Dissemination of real-time footage or video recordings from the security cameras is also prohibited under the agreement — however, the district superintendent can approve their release. New policy In other business Monday, the board heard complaints from two district residents over a new policy that allows student release time for religious instruction. The school board approved the new policy, titled "Released Time for Religious Instruction," at its regular meeting on July 25. The vote was 3-1, with board Vice President Laura Eier opposed, and board member Susan Russel absent. The policy first appeared on the agenda as a discussion item at the board's July 11 meeting. Under the policy, students will be permitted to be released from school for religious instruction, under rules consistent with state law, which includes written parental/guardian permission. Since then, an online petition opposing the policy had garnered more than 800 signatures. On Monday, residents challenged the policy's impact on instruction and the potential to cause division and bullying among students.