Security Upgrades for Jackson County Schools

Jackson County Schools are looking to upgrade school entrances to increase school safety.

Jackson County Director of Schools Kristy Brown said the Safe Schools Grant application process is open and her safety teams have determined the best use of this grant money. Brown said the new entrances would create an area where visitors would have to be directed to the front office before they enter a school, adding an extra layer of security.

“This will just be another layer to ensure that our buildings have limited access to anybody that comes in, from visitors and outside people, and it’s just important to be able to keep up with who’s in your building at all times,” Brown said.

Brown said the system wants to begin the upgrades with one school. No final decision has been made on which school.

“We’re looking at a school, yes I think that we’re gonna have to look at it, no final decisions have been made but we are determining which school that that would be the most vital to do at this point,” Brown said.

The Safe Schools Grant would become available in October. Brown said she would like to see this project finished by the start of the 2021 Summer.

“We would hope to complete a project like this by June 30th,” Brown said.

In the meantime, the Safe Schools Grant application process closes in September. Before any construction can be done, Brown said Jackson County Schools will have someone look at the buildings compliance with rules and regulations for adding onto the entrance of a building.