New Cameras, Panic Buttons Considered During Security Workshop

The Lindenhurst Board of Education is considering a full upgrade of the district's security camera software, panic buttons and other items after a security workshop at Lindenhurst High School last Wednesday.

New camera software was shown off by Lee Mandel, the chief executive officer of Intralogic Solutions of Massapequa, that would allow the district to continue using existing camera systems with many additional features, including vehicle and person tracking, and visibility from a central point for any camera.

Intralogic Solution provides similar systems to over 70 districts throughout Long Island as well as the security system for the Town of Babylon, which Mandel used as an example during his presentation before the board.

Mandel showed how, via an internet connection, he was able to show the parking lot at Gilgo Beach live from the Lindenhurst High School auditorium. Mandel suggested a "command center" should be installed to allow security personnel to watch out for any threats.

Other alerts, such as a voice message, could be used from where he was standing to ward off intruders or send out urgent messages, he said.

Intralogic recently completed a threat assessment for the entire district and Mandel said Lindenhurst was in "very good shape" compared to most other Long Island districts due to an abundance of security measures already in place.

In addition to new security equipment, Mandel suggested panic buttons could be installed in key locations in all district buildings, alerting the entire building when there was an emergency, automatically calling emergency services and giving directions through a message system.

Other suggested security upgrades for Lindenhurst include key card access, smartphone apps with the ability to push alerts throughout the district and additional security cameras throughout the buildings.

In all, the suggested upgrades by Intralogic would total over $473,500 if the district board chooses to implement all of them. Almost 59 percent of the total costs, however, could be covered by BOCES through grants, bringing the final amounts down by over $140,000.

The event, which was expected to be heavily attended by board members and district officials, only attracted around 30 people in the audience.

Some of those in the audience came out to voice their support for their school's security guards, noting how their children have said they feel more at ease when they know the guard is protecting them. Many of the parents thought the board would completely replace school guards with new security equipment.

"We're discussing it right now," said Donna Hochman, the board president. "We're not taking them out yet – we need to continue to have a discussion."

District Superintendent Richard Nathan reminded parents the current guards were being paid from district reserves since the last school budget did not include funding for security guards.

Board officials said a decision on new equipment or security measures would not be made until a later meeting, targeting early November's business meeting as a potential timeframe.