Bidding For New Student Security Vestibule At CHS

Putnam County Schools set to take bids to install a security vestibule at the student entrance of Cookeville High School.

Deputy Schools Director Tim Martin said the system decided to move the project up the priority list after the state did not offer security grants. Martin said Cookeville High has a large number of students who attend classes off campus each day. Many students coming and going poses a risk that the school system is not willing to take.

“We want to trust all of our kids but it is very easy for a stranger to come along and tag along behind somebody when they come through a door or knock on the door and the student open it up for them or something like that,” Martin said. “So we want to have that door secured and we want to have someone there that can watch it just like we have watching the main entrance.”

Martin said the school system would use county bond money to cover the estimated $150,000 project. Martin said with this project replacing the flooring at the school will have to take a backseat for now.

“We certainly would not take that off the list,” Martin said. “But for now it will have to wait for future funding.”

The vestibule would include an office where students would be checked in and out of that entrance. Martin said once the vestibule is installed they will look for more ways to ensure safety of the school.

“All the other doors should remain closed and locked,” Martin said. “We have various ways to determine that but its mostly our School Resource Officers that keep an eye on the doors. We are looking at some various security items that would give us an alarm if doors stay open to long or something like that.”

Martin said the school system had received a grant from the state in years past to build security vestibules but the state did not offer the grant this year so the school system had to add the project to general maintenance.

Martin said the school system will need to have further discussions about how the vestibule would work with students and possibly implementing one on the backside of Upperman High School.