Farmington Schools Bond Plan Includes Improved Security

Walk into any of the six Power Upper Elementary School entrances, and you immediately have access to classrooms throughout the building.

When the Farmington Hills school opened in 1968, nobody thought too much about that. A 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut changed the school security landscape.

A proposal to address security and safety in all K-12 buildings is included in a two-part bond referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. About $20 million of the $154.6 million in Proposal 1 would provide secure lobbies ($16.4 million) and video surveillance ($3.6 million). 

Earlier this year, workers installed cameras and security buzzers at the main entrances of all K-12 schools, at a cost of $200,000. 

"That's a real good representation of a need that had to be met, and when we meet that need from the general fund, that's less money that goes into the classroom," said Jon Manier, the district's executive director of instructional services. 

But the buzzers provide limited protection. Once inside Power's main entrance, for instance, visitors have immediate access to a staircase that leads to the second floor. 

The plan for all schools includes a vestibule entrance that leads directly to the main office, limiting access to the rest of the building. A "lock down" button would secure the building and alert police in case of a threat. 

"We are thankful for the cameras and buzzers," said parent Kelly Knight, who attended Power as a middle-schooler, "but when you walk in, someone can come in behind you, or someone on the way out may hold the door for someone coming in." 

Read more:
Farmington Schools Bond Would Fix False Alarms, Aging Buildings

This is part of a series based on a tour of Power Upper Elementary and Gill Elementary Schools, guided by parent Kelly Knight, school principals Jim Anderson and Chris Sulimon, district facilities director Jon Riebe and Jon Manier, district executive director of instructional services. Bond information is available on the district's website: farmington.k12.mi.us