By Patricia Bogumil
Interim Editor
Staff at Waterford Union High School will start keeping a sharper eye on campus safety thanks to a $41,185 grant to help fund more than $82,000 worth of surveillance cameras, two-way radios, portable breathalyzers and metal detectors.
The grant award was announced by Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, whose office was instrumental in obtaining the money under the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Secure Our Schools (SOS) grant program.
Before any equipment can be purchased, approval must first be given by the Racine County Board to accept the grant funds.
“I don’t see this as a problem,” said Schmaling in an email communication Tuesday. “We will request the acceptance of the funds and work with school officials to make the purchases.”
The Waterford Union High School board also needs to approve the district’s $41,185 worth of matching funds, but that money is already in the budget, said WHS Superintendent Keith Brandstetter.
“We knew we had to do some upgrades, pieces here and there,” he explained. “This gives us an opportunity to do a little bit more.”
Besides having a deterrent effect on misbehavior, the new equipment will also provide investigatory evidence, Brandstetter noted.
Some 107 crimes on campus were reported from the 2008-2009 school year through the 2010-2011 school year, Brandstetter said.
These offenses generally involved smoking, truancy and an occasional altercation, he said.
The new technology and equipment items total $82,370 and include:
• $13,424 for a mix of 32 Axis IP indoor cameras that will replace outdated cameras and be incorporated into the school’s surveillance system;
• $9,990 for a mix of 10 Axis outdoor cameras that will replace outdated cameras and be incorporated into the surveillance system;
• $19,970 for a hybrid network video recorder (NVR) with 48 analog ports and 8 Intellectual Property licenses, enabling current analog cameras to be connected to the new NVR;
• $944 for 16 power-over- ethernet (POE) injectors for new indoor cameras;
• $1,190 for 10 high POE injectors for new outdoor cameras;
• $2,550 for 17 surveillance camera licenses with one year software maintenance;
• $1,960 for a warranty to cover all labor costs for one year after initial installation;
• $4,800 for installation cost of wiring for 16 indoor cameras;
• $12,500 for installation and training associated with the new NVR and indoor and outdoor cameras.
• $4,786 for a two-way Motorola radio system repeater to assist with cross-band communication with police/fire/rescue;
• $6,975 for portable radios for the new radio system;
• additional costs associated with the radio system include: $359 for communication interface kit; $560, ultra-high frequency low power mount; $480, very high frequency low power mount; $592, radio power supplies;
• $930, two portable breath testers with 600 mouth pieces; and
• $360, two metal detector scanners.
“I am very proud to have obtained this grant for the Waterford High School,” said Schmaling. “This will help them provide a safe environment for the students and staff.”
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