New District Safety & Security Upgrades — April 10, 2018

Protecting our students and staff is our highest priority. We want our campuses to be welcoming, but we must remain vigilant. 

As part of Cabot Public Schools continued efforts to provide a safe environment, we have implemented new security measures at every school in our district. These include upgrading our Visitor Management Systems.

Several of our schools have received or will be receiving automated systems which include, door buzzers, microphones, cameras, and office monitors. This will allow us to control access to our schools. All doors will be locked and secured at certain times of the day.

Depending on the building configuration, other schools will receive storefronts or glass entryways that are locked where staff can control access points.

Please understand that our office staff handles multiple tasks daily and while they will work as quickly as possible to help you gain access, there may be a short delay. We ask for your patience and please remember that we have your child's best interest at heart. I'm sure you'll agree we only want authorized visitors in our schools. 

The Cabot School District has invested over $200,000 to upgrade our Visitor Management Systems to every campus. We are also hiring an additional armed officer to be assigned to Cabot High School at an estimated cost of $70,000. We are providing additional resources to our five security guards assigned to Cabot High School at a cost of $100,000. We are also relocating the student activity area at Cabot Middle School South to the back of the school and moving the back parking area to the front at an estimated cost of $300,000.

These expenditures were not anticipated this year, but we were able to transfer funds and we reduced anticipated operation expenditures in this year's budget to make these changes an immediate reality. We have much more that needs to be done, and just like anything else, it comes at a cost. We certainly can't put a price tag on safety and security, but it is imperative that we have a plan for ongoing funding of projects and additional security staff to protect what matters most. 

Thank you for your cooperation as we add another security measure to ensure the safety to our students and staff.