How Central Georgia schools are using Governor Kemp's school security grant

Since the horror of Columbine in 1999, school shootings are now a harsh reality.
Tera Edwards knows it's a different world from when she grew up.

"Students are aware of lockdown procedures and different codes that they have during the day," Edwards said.

All Central Georgia public schools can benefit from the school security money set aside in Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's 2019 budget.

To get it, they have to submit their request to the state.

We requested records from the state Department of Education show several districts already have plans in the works.

"We want to be able to use those funds to improve safety and security at the school, but I don't want to have to spend $50,000 to use $30,000," Bibb County Schools Chief of Staff Keith Simmons said.

That's why Simmons and Safety and Security Director Corey Goble plan to put the money toward improving the quality of their current camera system instead of new technology.

"If you walk into any school in our district, you can expect to be on camera, first and foremost," Goble said.

"What we want to be able to do using these security grant funds is to add cameras in places where we feel that there's a lack of oversight or coverage," Simmons said.

"You can pull up the cameras on your cell phone, and you can be walking down the gym hallway and you can see something from the cafeteria on your phone and you're able to respond to that," Bibb County Schools Campus Police Sergeant Richie Kendrick said.

The latest report from the National Center for Education Statistics says more than 93 percent (93.2%) of American public schools use access control to school buildings.

More than 85 percent (85.3%) have cameras, which is how Houston County Schools plan to spend their grant.

"When I first got here, I think we had 12 cameras, and it was always wanting to increase. We went from 28% coverage to 98% coverage," Warner Robins High School Principal Chris McCook said.

"We were able to put a vestibule in all of our schools. We have our last one coming in at Warner Robins High School, and we also access controls," Assistant Superintendent Richard Rogers said.

"If somebody came into the front door of our school, they would not have access that way to the building because that's a secured vestibule. They couldn't get into the office and all the other doors to the whole school are locked, so unless you have this card, you're not getting into our building," Perdue Elementary School Principal Andy Payne said.

In Peach County, district leaders plan to make it harder to see into their buildings and improve communication between staff.

"We have security tint and common areas now that an active shooter can't see in, but administration and faculty can see out, and there's an example here behind us. We invested in many more radios," Peach County Assistant Superintendent Ben Maddox said.

Their plans also include adding more cameras and switching to a key-fob entry system.

"Anything that you can add from this grant will be a welcome addition," Edwards said.

Edwards says it's money spent for the right reasons.

"Every day, they come to school so they don't have to worry about what happened that day," she said.

Meghan Frick, with the Georgia Department of Education, says the money must be spent and reimbursed by the state by June of next year.