Hall County School District will start the new school year with plans to expand the testing of new security efforts: a panic button system.
The recently renovated Academies of Discovery, a growing campus that is home to multiple schools, will be part of the pilot. Throughout the school, panic buttons are hidden for use in case of emergency.
"Once a button is pushed, it sends a signal to law enforcement within a twenty-mile radius of that school or that building, and they respond right away," district spokesperson Gordon Higgins said. "[Law enforcement] will be en route and they will be here within minutes of the alarm going off. "
"Our campus is very large and open and it means that many people within our community would come to our aid should something occur," Paula Stubbs, Principal of Academies of Discovery at South Hall, said. "Although we try to keep our heads in situations like this, we need others alongside us for the variety of situations that could, but we hope won't, occur."
The alarm system was first tested this spring at Johnson High School in Gainesville and will now expand to the Johnson school cluster, including the Academies of Discovery. The system is meant to supplement existing security measures already in place, such as the district-wide surveillance system.
The alarm also triggers an automated voice, indicating which location in the building a situation is occurring, a help to responding staff. If successful, the panic buttons could be installed across the district.
"We knew it worked at a high school but all schools have various cultures, various challenges," Higgins said. "They want to make sure it works as well in a middle school environment and an elementary environment before authorizing for the district."
According to Higgins, the district also has allotted funding to add digital radio technology to all of the districts' school buses. The district expects to install two-way radios by winter break so bus drivers can talk to dispatch in case of emergency.
