Altaris Makes School Safety Presentations to Pelham BOE

Altaris Consulting Group managing partner John LaPlaca and associate Brian McLaughlin provided a glimpse into their ongoing assessment of individual school campuses and district security policies at last night’s school board meeting.  

“There is an unparalleled sense of awareness right now that things have changed tremendously,” said LaPlaca. “They understand there have to be changes for you as district to protect them.” 

The security consultants narrated a 70-slide presentation detailing concerns at each school in the district and outlining district level recommendations from the inexpensive to comprehensive.

Merrick school district in Long Island recently paid a $28,000 retainer for Altaris’ services in February and voted last week to implement $200,000 worth of security features recommended by the firm.

There were no prices involved in last night's discussion, but the 2013-2014 preliminary budget does have a $150,000 line item for security upgrades that might follow from the final evaluation.

Board member Lisa Kiernan asked the consultants to provide a priority list to help the board determine the most important areas of emphasis and potential investment following their presentation. LaPlaca said he would work with the district to map actions that could be implemented with minimal or no cost. 

LaPlaca noted that the fatalities at the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, CT all occurred in unlocked classrooms to underscore his point that attention to details like door locks and consistent safety practices were just as important as, if not more effective than large scale items like surveillance systems or other expensive investments.

“There’s a variety of things we have an opportunity to do,” said Assistant superintendent Angelo Rubbo. “A lot of it is a culture change.” 

“It will be a long conversation [with administrators and community],” noted board member Will Cavanaugh. 

Altaris made several suggestions including:

• Glare coverings for low windows to minimize outdoor sight lines into buildings
• Use portable radios for communication between designated security team members
• Patch dead cellular service areas
• Upgrading and installing doors at various classroom, library and faculty room entry points
• Create protocols for building key management and recovery
• Implement greeter system with training in conflict resolution and custodial management
• Additional fencing at some schools

There were no public questions at the meeting. Altaris will continue their evaluation before submitting a final report later in the year.