Metal detectors, surveillance cameras, classroom locks: Louisiana schools fortify security

Jun. 25—Single entry points, controlled access, modern badge systems, perimeter fences, metal detectors, upgraded surveillance cameras and better locks for classroom doors: Parents can expect these and more in the weeks and months ahead as Louisiana public schools start spending more than $20 million in fresh federal funding aimed at limiting the chances of dangerous intruders committing violence.

The Louisiana Department of Education earlier this month announced 39 winning applicants across the state and that they will all receive the same amount of money: $518,355. So tiny Northeast Claiborne Charter School in Junction City, 30 miles north of Ruston, is getting just the same as the Jefferson Parish school system, home to 47,400 students, the largest district in the state.

State Superintendent Cade Brumley defends the even-steven arrangement. He argues that, if his agency had gone the common route of using a funding formula, it would not only have delayed the release of the money, it would not have made much of a difference in how much any school district received given the many applicants and limited amount of money.

"We could have tried to calculate this award into some type of formula, but that's going to tend to meet the needs of probably one school for each school system," Brumley said in an interview.

A key goal, he said, was to get the money out the door before schools return from summer break.

"We wanted to allocate the funds as quickly as possible," Brumley said.

While Louisiana is moving faster in releasing the funding than many other states, it is far from the fastest. Oklahoma led the nation, giving out its $11.7 million allocation back in January.

Louisiana received $21.3 million. That's the state share of $1 billion that U.S. Congress approved a year ago to improve school safety. It was part of rare bipartisan legislation passed in the immediate wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, which left 21 people dead and 17 injured.

The Louisiana Department of Education is taking about $1 million off the top — its "indirect costs" for administering the grant — before disbursing the rest of the money to schools.

The recently announced awardees included 30 traditional Louisiana school districts and nine charter school networks. Collectively, they educate about 45% of the public schoolchildren in the state.

The federal legislation gave states a wide array of options when it comes to school security. Brumley chose to narrow those options to measures that serve to "harden the perimeter" of schools.

In the Baton Rouge region, the grant recipients include Ascension Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish and City of Baker school districts.

While they all plan to start spending the money quickly, there are only a few weeks until schools return from summer break in August. And the awardees still have final paperwork to complete before they can receive the money, including determining if any private or charter schools should receive a share of the money.

They will have time to spend it all down. The deadline for the grant is Sept. 30, 2025, more than two years from now.

Each district is doing something different with their pots of money.

Baker, home to just five schools, is directing the bulk of its $518,355 to convert entryways at two campuses, Park Ridge Elementary and the old Baker Middle campus at 5903 Groom Road, into single, controlled points of access. They would create what are known as "security vestibules," similar to the way banks sometimes enclose their ATM machines.

Both school facilities currently have multiple ways in.

"The schools lock points of entry but there is no way to monitor if one of those points of entry is breached during the school day," reads Baker's grant application.

The grant also would help Baker pay for an alert system when exterior doors are breached, a new visitor management system and additional surveillance cameras.

Ascension Parish is taking a much different approach.

The parish school system, home to 24,000 students, invested heavily in improving security in the past decade, starting after the 2012 deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. As part of its school construction program, Ascension has persuaded voters to boost security, in the process outfitting every one of its schools with controlled access entryways and other improvements.

Jeff Parent, Ascension's supervisor for planning, construction and security, said the district is giving each of its 32 schools an equal share, roughly $16,000 apiece. Those schools will use the money on upgrading their single entryways as well as more perimeter fencing.

"We are not going to spend it all before school starts (in August), but I think within the year we will be able to use the majority of that $518,000," Parent said.

East Baton Rouge Parish is much further behind than Ascension in the security of its facilities.

With lots of old, open school campuses, this district of more than 40,000 children has millions of dollars in needs. Monique Scott-Spaulding, chief of operations, said the grant will allow it to get to more of the items in its long wish list.

"We work it into our security plan," said Scott-Spaulding.

Like other districts, East Baton Rouge will direct its grant funds into converting some of its 29 campuses that lack single points of entry by constructing "single point welcome centers" as well as building more perimeter fences.

The school district is simultaneously using other funds for more surveillance cameras and metal detectors, Scott-Spaulding said.

In its grant application, East Baton Rouge notes that, while it has 2,800 cameras now across 81 schools, some are old and need upgrading. And schools still have blind spots.

About four out of 10 entry points currently "are not monitored by cameras or people." And eight of out 10 schools don't have cameras monitoring the outside of all restrooms — restrooms are common trouble spots in schools.

Metal detectors are also in short supply; about half of East Baton Rouge schools lack them.

The district recently purchased 87 handheld detectors. It plans to have detectors at every school, one each for elementary schools and four at every high school. Also, the school system plans to add "walk-through" detectors at a couple more schools.

Scott-Spaulding said a new safety committee is developing plans for a request for proposals from vendors selling school security software, particularly to manage visitors to campuses.

"You want to be able to monitor and measure who is entering your campus," Scott-Spaulding explained.

The idea of seeking proposals came after the board balked in April at a proposal to buy a pricey "panic badge" system offered by Atlanta-based Centegix. Board members wanted more information on alternatives.

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