Safety Initiatives

This project includes two distinct work streams. Phase I migrates the District’s school buses and other non-emergency radio traffic from Broward County’s existing public safety radio system to the newly-developed local government radio system. This will reduce the capacity load on the existing public safety system, as Broward County continues its work to replace the existing system by the end of 2019 and dedicate its usage to public safety workers and first responders.  The migration of the District’s bus radios will begin in April 2019 and be fully completed prior to the start of the 2019/20 school year.  Phase II of this project includes the purchase of additional radios and repeaters to enhance the existing local radio networks at all schools. In total, the School Board authorized $4.5 million for this critical project.

On July 24, 2018, the School Board authorized the expansion of the District’s video surveillance system and completed Phase I of the video surveillance project. In Phase I, all school video surveillance systems were upgraded to a standard, digital platform, which provides the ability to centrally monitor the District’s complete inventory of approximately 10,000 cameras. This new capability allowed the District to enter into a formal agreement with the Broward Sheriff’s Office on January 15, 2019, to provide live, real-time access to all of the District’s cameras. This agreement was authorized to improve law enforcement and fire safety personnel response to emergencies at District schools or facilities when active circumstances present an immediate need for law enforcement or fire safety personnel to respond. The District is actively working to develop similar agreements with other law enforcement agencies within Broward County to provide them with similar access.

The video surveillance expansion project provides $6.2 million to install approximately 2,500 new analytic and digital cameras at schools in priority areas on campuses identified by Safe Havens International. It is anticipated this expansion will be completed prior to the start of the 2019/20 school year.

The School Board also authorized $17 million to upgrade the intercom systems at high schools, technical colleges, centers and secondary combination schools. This project will improve emergency communications within schools. It will upgrade the intercom system to a digital platform; allow school administration to pre-record emergency messages and initiate them remotely; and incorporate additional speakers throughout the campuses. The District anticipates selecting a business partner to accomplish this work in April 2019, with a significant amount of the work being implemented during the summer of 2019.

The District has developed a new Office of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness. This new office will align the District’s existing safety and security resources, and provide additional $3.2 million in new resources under a Chief Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Officer.