Riverside, Ohio, Schools Buy Digital Radios for Emergencies

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(TNS) — The Riverside School Board recently approved a purchase order for new staff communication devices after being selected as one of three Ohio schools or districts to receive a federal school security grant.

The $249,095 purchase order with Vocera Communications will allow the district to replace analog radios with 400 new digital communication devices, said district Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Gary Platko at the Jan. 25 board meeting. The purchase will be supported by a $212,755 School Violence Prevention Program award from the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

The Vocera Mini Badge and Smart Badge devices that the district will purchase are typically used in hospitals, he said. Teachers, administrators, officers, assistants, custodians and other staff members will use them for “communications within a specific facility between law enforcement, administration and staff.”

“The new radios will allow for better communication among staff and allow for immediate access to help in case of an emergency,” Platko later said. “It will allow fast real-time communications that can be shared with all employees throughout the district or all employees in a specific school building or department.”

A district news release said that the devices “can be used for both emergencies and for day-to-day operations and communication.”

Platko said that the communication badges will use the district’s Wi-Fi networks, so they will not depend on cell phone signal quality. They will also allow for individual conversations between staff members.

“Since the communication badges are small, they are minimally intrusive to the person wearing them,” he added later. “Our old radio system is somewhat disruptive to students and the learning environment as all communications go to all employees who have radios within a building.”

The communications devices will also include a silent panic alarm, Platko said. School resource officers and district administrators will be able to trace where the alarm is coming from using the Wi-Fi access points.

He added that the grant and Vocera devices were recommended by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office also “helped put the majority of the grant application together.”

The news release said that across the country, 206 out of the 1,022 applications received funding. Platko added that a total of $73 million was available.

“We were surprised when we were actually awarded it,” he said.

The Riverside School Board voted to accept the grant in November.

The Justice Department’s COPS Office can issue school security grants to state, local and tribal governments through the 2018 Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act, stated the program webpage.

The funds are to be used “to improve security at schools and on school grounds … through evidence-based school safety programs and technology.” The program will cover 75 percent of project costs.

In addition to the initial purchase order, Platko said that the district wrote two years of annual licensing fees into the grant application. The fee costs between $16,000 and $17,000 each year.

He said that the district will begin using the new system in the 2024-25 school year.

“Implementation of this system further demonstrates the district’s commitment to providing a safe and supportive environment for its students, teachers and staff,” stated the news release.

“Riverside appreciates its strong partnership with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office,” it added. “Without their assistance, this project would not have been possible.”