Connecticut Governor Rell Convenes Statewide Conference on School Safety

March 27, 2008 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today convened a statewide conference on school safety at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. The conference included Connecticut school officials from all levels of education – from elementary school to college – and addressed ways to review and improve security measures and response plans. The conference follows tragedies from shootings on the Northern Illinois University campus last month and on the Virginia Tech campus last year.

“We must plan for the worst – for an incident at one of our own schools or college campuses,” Governor Rell told the conference attendees. “Coordination, communication and anticipation must be our watchwords.

“Since February, money has been going to Connecticut schools to help improve safety. Because schools in Connecticut and across the nation have seen an increase in violence, we are trying to help school officials recognize potential signs that might show that somebody may be in trouble. If educators are equipped with strategies to intervene effectively, we can prevent future tragedies from occurring.”

Governor Rell noted that just two weeks ago, a report of a suspicious person led to a four-hour lockdown of the E.C. Goodwin Technical School in New Britain.

“Thank God no one was hurt and that the report was inaccurate,” Governor Rell said of the Goodwin Tech lockdown. “But that frightening incident really brought home the fact that yes, it could happen here, and we need to do everything we can now in order to be ready for such a situation.”

“We are committed to working with all our partners to make our schools safer,” Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Commissioner James Thomas said. “During the next two years we will be administering $10 million in school security grants. These funds, combined with the school security assessments that were required as part of the application, and important training sessions like this are part of the three-pronged approached that we are using to keep Connecticut's school and colleges safe for our children.”

In January, Governor Rell announced $5 million in grants to enhance security in 360 individual schools across Connecticut, part of an ongoing effort to provide added peace of mind to parents and their children and help every school district be as well-prepared as possible. The grants can be used to cover the costs of such safety measures as buzzer and key-card systems, panic alarms and portable screening devices as well as training for personnel.

The grant program continues next year with another $5 million to be distributed. As part of the application process, both school officials and local first responders are required to complete a facilities security checklist, which is then scored and reviewed by officials from state agencies.

In addition, public alert radios have been distributed to every school in the state. These “All-Hazard Weather Radios” are automatically turned on by a special signal in the event of an emergency and can alert school officials not only to dangerous weather but threats such as a terrorist attack, child abduction or hazardous material leak.

Source: Connecticut Governor

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