$46M OK’d for school security fixes

The state is awarding money to 222 school campuses for security upgrades, from new doors and locks to fencing and security cameras.

Though this year’s legislative session was bookended by deadly school shootings in Aztec and in Parkland, Fla., there was little talk of gun control or arming school personnel. Lawmakers instead agreed to set aside $46 million over four years to improve the security of campuses around the state.

Forty-seven school districts applied for security improvements at 288 campuses.

Officials told an oversight committee Tuesday that most of those applications were granted after a survey of school buildings and public comment sessions discussing exactly how parents, teachers and students would like to improve the safety of their schools.

This year’s funding will total $16 million, with projects beginning as soon as December.

Schools can receive $10 million in each of the next three years.

Albuquerque Public Schools got more money than any other district this year — a total of $3.8 million. Los Lunas Schools followed with $1.5 million. But the state is also awarding funds to districts as remote as House, Chama and Hagerman.

The state assessed each campus that applied based on the number of security measures already in place. Of these campuses, for example, Tucumcari Middle School had the fewest measures in place. It will receive nearly $24,000 for upgrades.

Santa Fe Public Schools did not seek any of the funds this year, citing recent security upgrades paid for with bonds approved by local voters.

The business of selling security equipment to schools has boomed in the wake of shootings that have rattled the public conscience. But officials sought to steer money toward some basic, fundamental improvements.

Districts mostly asked for fences, new door locks, hand-held radios and secure vestibules that allow administrators to better control the entrance to a school building.

“These are all very valid, very effective security measures,” Jonathan Chamblin, director of the Public School Facilities Authority, told lawmakers.

Most of the campuses requesting upgrades are older, with doors and windows that may be past their expected lifespan, he said.

While the authority includes security considerations when planning new schools, some lawmakers questioned why some newer campuses, such as a recently rebuilt Del Norte High School and relatively new Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque, also have been allotted state funds, arguing contemporary designs should have accounted for safety measures in the first place.

In any event, legislators noted that the funding will only cover the costs of physical improvements.

In community meetings, school staff, students and parents said the biggest issues for school safety were mental health and bullying.

Lawmakers should also devote more money to counselors and mental health services, said Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces.

“All the things that are on the preventive side — they pay off every single day,” he said.