Ector County I.S.D. Comments On Panic Button Security
By: Jenne Anderson
Updated: February 12, 2013
ODESSA -- Safety is a top priority here at Orange Beach Elementary in Baldwin County Alabama.
If you take a walk through the school you'll find security cameras, an armed police officer, as well as the newest security measure- panic buttons.
"We decided to implement a panic button system in which teachers and staff wear a button around their neck on a lanyard," said Orange Beach Principal, Lori Brocato.
Brocato tells Big 2 that the buttons are a way to beef up the school's security after the Sandy Hook shooting.
"If they activate the button, it immediately sends a signal to a local security company who calls the police department, and they are dispatched to our school," explained Brocato.
The school's had 2 false alarms since the system was put in place at the end of January, but Brocato says these incidents have only given the school more practice perfecting their safety drills.
"A button was activated accidentally," stated Brocato. "So it gave us an opportunity to go through a lockdown drill in real time."
The elementary school say's they've had dozens of calls from other schools across the country looking to tighten their security.
Big 2 spoke with several parents here in the Permian Basin who all agree that these panic buttons would be good for local schools.
"It's not something we're looking at implementing right now," said Mike Adkins with Ector County I.S.D. "We do have a really structured and well developed security plan right now."
And while they probably won't be using panic buttons any time soon, E.C.I.S.D. says their security system recently received compliments from the state, who came in and inspected the campus.
"She (state inspector) said we had really one of the best safety and security plans in place that she had seen anywhere in Texas," said Adkins.
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If you take a walk through the school you'll find security cameras, an armed police officer, as well as the newest security measure- panic buttons.
"We decided to implement a panic button system in which teachers and staff wear a button around their neck on a lanyard," said Orange Beach Principal, Lori Brocato.
Brocato tells Big 2 that the buttons are a way to beef up the school's security after the Sandy Hook shooting.
"If they activate the button, it immediately sends a signal to a local security company who calls the police department, and they are dispatched to our school," explained Brocato.
The school's had 2 false alarms since the system was put in place at the end of January, but Brocato says these incidents have only given the school more practice perfecting their safety drills.
"A button was activated accidentally," stated Brocato. "So it gave us an opportunity to go through a lockdown drill in real time."
The elementary school say's they've had dozens of calls from other schools across the country looking to tighten their security.
Big 2 spoke with several parents here in the Permian Basin who all agree that these panic buttons would be good for local schools.
"It's not something we're looking at implementing right now," said Mike Adkins with Ector County I.S.D. "We do have a really structured and well developed security plan right now."
And while they probably won't be using panic buttons any time soon, E.C.I.S.D. says their security system recently received compliments from the state, who came in and inspected the campus.
"She (state inspector) said we had really one of the best safety and security plans in place that she had seen anywhere in Texas," said Adkins.
Like Jenne Anderson's page on Facebook!
