Montco promotes new school alarm

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Montgomery County school officials will have student safety at their fingertips thanks to a new wireless alert system developed after the Nickel Mines shooting. The silent panic button was demonstrated yesterday at Stewart Middle School in Norristown.

Wearing a wireless transmitter around her neck, Stewart principal Rachel Holler summoned police by pressing the button, which is designed to alert a 911 dispatcher within two seconds.

Fifty-nine schools in Montgomery County have the system, and the county hopes to have it in most schools by the end of this year. Eventually, all 650 public, parochial, private and nursery schools in the county will be included.

During yesterday's demonstration, Holler announced a "lockdown" over the PA system immediately after pressing the panic button. Teachers were told to lock their doors, and students in the hallway were told to head to the main office if locked out of their classroom.

"What this system does is save time, and time saves lives," Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman Thomas Jay Ellis said at a news conference after the demonstration.

First proposed a year ago after the Nickel Mines tragedy, the wireless Countywide Law Enforcement Alerting and Safety System links schools directly to 911 dispatchers. Other security systems first alert a company, which then notifies dispatchers.

Tucked behind Holler's blue school identification card, the beige wireless button was discreet. And since the alarm is silent, school officials can use it to alert police when a phone call may draw attention and put lives in danger.

Floor plans for the schools are also being added to laptops installed in police vehicles. The silent alarm doesn't tell police the specifics of the emergency, but the floor plan prepares them better for the unpredictable.

After police are alerted, a 911 dispatcher calls the school to get additional information.

"It's another tool in our arsenal to keep kids safe while they're in school," Ellis said.

Responsible for more than 500 students, Holler said she was "very impressed" with the system's speed and efficiency.

The system costs about $1,000 per school, Ellis said.

The county budget provides $1 million for the project, which also includes an expanded emergency call center with new dispatchers. The dispatchers will be phased in beginning next year.

A school safety coordinator will also be added, linking the Department of Public Safety with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. Thomas M. Sullivan, county director of public safety, said the new post "gives us direct access into the schools."

A later phase will allow one-way communication that notifies administrators of any threat in the vicinity.