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Pasco to add new school security measures including cameras, new door locks

More cameras and new door locks coming
Posted at 8:08 PM, Oct 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-03 06:18:47-04

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Elementary schools in Pasco County are about eight weeks into the new security measure of having armed safety guards.

The district says so far they’ve gotten lots of positive feedback.

“My guards get pictures colored every day from kids, 'thanks for keeping us safe,'” said Safety and Security Director Christopher Stowe.

Brooke Curtis has three kids in elementary school.

“It’s definitely been a sense of ease, I guess you could say knowing that an armed security guard is there at all times,” she said.

The guards are a state requirement under the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act.

But now there are more safety efforts to come. District leaders teamed up with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office to do a safety assessment. From that assessment, they decided how to spend a state security grant.

The focus will be on making sure all schools have surveillance cameras. Schools will have 30 cameras each along with recording devices.

And they also plan to spend more than $1 million upgrading all door locks so they can lock from the inside.

“There will be no need for them to come out of the door of their classroom in order to secure it,” said Stowe.

“Anything extra that’s going to help our children remain safe, and not just our children, but our staff and our teachers,” said Curtis.

The district should get the more than $2 million grant in 30 days and have everything in place by the end of this school year.

Here is the district's presentation on the new security measures.