Malabar
Intermediate School will have new security cameras, inside and out, when school
resumes on Jan. 3. Approximately 70 new security cameras will be installed at Malabar Intermediate School during the district’s winter break, Dec. 20-Jan. 2.
The
Mansfield City Schools Board of Education approved the cameras and an increase
in substitute teacher pay during their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday.
Cost of the
indoor and outdoor cameras is $25,782. The board also authorized a $16,500
contract with Crider Solutions Inc. of Mansfield for installation.
Treasurer
Robert Kuehnle said the current cameras at Malabar are out of date and do not
work with the computer server that was purchased last year.
“Last year we had the funds for the server, now we’re adding the cameras and software,” Kuehnle said. “Fayette Adams and Ken Abshire of the technology department walked through Malabar with principal Andrea Moyer and assistant principal Tom Hager to determine the best placement for the cameras. Our plan is to have them operational by Jan. 1.”
New cameras
have been installed at Mansfield Senior High and Prospect Elementary. Kuehnle
said the goal is to install cameras at Sherman Elementary School during spring
break.
“Sherman is next on the list,” he said, as the district works toward new cameras in all buildings.
Chief
academic officer Stephen Rizzo told the board that Mansfield City Schools has
received a safety grant of approximately $18,000 that can be used for
equipment, training or any other aspect of enhancing district safety.
A visitor
screening system already in use at Mansfield Senior High/Malabar Middle School
will be expanded to other buildings as funds allow, Kuehnle said.
After an individual uses the exterior intercom to announce his/her name and reason for seeking entry, a secretary uses a switch to unlock the door to the main office. Once inside, the visitor is asked to provide his/her driver’s license so that the bar code on the back can be scanned. The scan checks the National Sex Offender Registry.
In other action,
the board approved an increase in the daily rate of pay for substitute teachers
from $90 to $140.
Kuehnle said
the increase was needed to attract more substitute candidates when regular
teachers are absent.
“Right now, we are able to fill only 53 percent of our substitute needs on a given day,” he said.
The votes
for the Malabar cameras and the substitute pay drew affirmative votes from Judy
Forney, Sheryl Weber, Gary Feagin and Renda Cline. Board member Chris Elswick
was absent.
The board’s 2019 organizational meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Raemelton administration building. The regular monthly meeting will follow.