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Prairie Grove Schools Raise Money For Door Barricades

PRAIRIE GROVE — Prairie Grove School District has started a campaign to raise money to purchase barricade devices to install on all classroom doors in the event of an active intruder on or near campus.

Shawn Witt, the district’s director of security, said the school is looking at a door barricade called “Nightlock Lockdown.” Each device costs $50, and the total cost for the project will be about $9,000 for 182 door locks. PG Telco gave an initial $1,000 to kick off the campaign.

Witt notes that an active intruder can break out a door window and reach in to gain access to a door lever for standard doors in school classrooms.

The device that Witt is considering is located at floor level out of the reach of an intruder. This provides a secondary lock for the door, Witt said.

He looked at several different barricades and chose this one because it works on wood or metal doors and doors that open in or doors that open out.

“This style can help with all kinds of doors,” Witt said. “It’s neutral to any type of door we have in our district.”

According to a handout about the barricades, each device has a red locking handle that will be stored in a wall box located near the teacher.

Witt said he wants to start installing the locks as soon as he can. Work will be completed on weekends and after school hours.

Witt said he got the idea for door barricades from Farmington School District.

Jimmy Brotherton, Farmington’s school resource officer, said Farmington has the barricades installed on almost all classroom doors and has the devices ordered for the remaining doors. Farmington also plans to install barricades on secondary doors, such as janitor’s closets, conference rooms and teachers’ lounges, to provide additional security for those rooms.

Brotherton said Farmington paid for their devices with school funds and donations. The district is using two different styles, depending on how the door swings.

Along with the door barricades, Witt said Prairie Grove also plans to have intruder drills in the future. He did not have specific plans for this yet but said school officials are still discussing details.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER David Faulk, school resource officer for Prairie Grove schools, and parent Jessica Fanning talk about new door barricades the school district wants to install on all classroom doors to increase student safety in case of an active intruder situation. Each lock is $50. Fanning donated $50 to pay for a lock for her child’s classroom door.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Payton Roberts, left, and Haidyn Holt, both second-graders at Prairie Grove Elementary School, play Valentine Bingo during their Valentine’s Day party last week. The elementary school was a busy place with parents showing up to celebrate with their children.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Wyatt Wasson, 9, shows off his basketball box for Valentine’s Day cards and candy that he made for his classroom party. Wyatt is in the third grade at Prairie Grove Elementary School.