School security upgrades moving forward

NASHUA – Main entrances at city schools could be more secure as soon as the end of February, with buzzer and intercom systems scheduled for installation by school vacation week. Superintendent Mark Conrad updated the Board of Education on Monday night about two security upgrades planned for the coming months – fast-tracked portions of a more than $2 million security project planned for the summer. The main entrance upgrades will include the installation of an intercom, camera, electronic lock, viewing monitor for main offices and remote door-lock releases. Conrad said Monday that the project, which uses all digital equipment, should cost about $104,000, $6,000 less than the board approved for the project earlier this month. Conrad said district plant operations officials will meet with the contractor in charge of the project in the coming weeks, and that the priority will be to first install the access control systems at schools where the main office is not near the main entrance. He said the systems should be in place in all schools by the time students return from February break. The second portion of the security upgrade that was fast-tracked in the wake of the Newtown elementary school shooting in December – the installation of “Columbine” locks on all classroom doors – will likely be completed by the end of April vacation. The locks allow a staff member to lock a door from the inside and would be installed in classrooms, cafeterias, gyms and other rooms where students and staff may be. Plant operations director Shawn Smith told board members earlier this month that the new locks can be locked from inside and outside a room, with a different key for each side. The key for the outside lock would work only for one door, but the key for the inside lock can open and close any inside lock in the building, to ensure that students and teachers can lock the doors no matter where they are in a school. The lock project is estimated to cost about $460,644, Conrad told board members Monday that the lock project has gone out to bid, and that bids are due back by Jan.