NEW MATAMORAS - Keeping kids safe was on the minds of Frontier Local School District Board of Education members Monday night - three days after 26 people, including 20 students and six teachers were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Frontier Schools superintendent Bruce Kidder reviewed some of the safety plans the district has in place for students in case a similar incident should occur locally, including conducting drills to train children how to react and where to go during an emergency situation.
"In most instances we've tended to use school lockdowns - bolting the doors shut to keep anyone out," he said. "But we're also currently trying to set up so that the county sheriff's office can see into our buildings through the schools' video systems. It's just a matter of coordinating our video equipment with theirs."
Following Monday's board meeting Kidder said he had visited all three district schools that morning.
"I just wanted to see how things were going (in the wake of news about Friday's Connecticut shooting), but there were no problems," he said. "I do think there may have been a few more absences than normal, but that was something that probably occurred in all of the school districts."
In other business Monday, board treasurer Frank Antill announced the district would lease two new school buses through a lease arrangement with J.P. Morgan Chase.
"No payment will be due this fiscal year, but the lease payments will be $60,000 a year for a period of three years, starting next year," Antill explained. "We'll be paying $180,000 through the agreement, but the total base price for both buses is $175,000."
The lease agreement received unanimous approval by the board members.
The organizational and regular Frontier Local Board of Education meetings in January will begin at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 at Frontier High and Middle Schools.
