AMERICAN FORK -- Across the country, educators are culling lessons in school safety from the fallout of the tragic Columbine shootings.
And, as police scrutinize film of the fatal siege captured by the Littleton school's security cameras, Alpine School District officials are making plans to install the devices.When Alpine schools open this fall, seventh- to 12th-graders will be monitored by an unflinching lens as they stroll to class, rummage through lockers and chat with friends before the tardy bell.
On the heels of bomb threats at two separate Alpine high schools in the past month, Alpine Superintendent Steven C. Baugh said $320,000 is expected to be spent on cameras in the district's 16 high schools and junior high schools.
The most recent threat occurred Thursday, when a male caller reportedly told a secretary there was a "big bomb" in the school. Students remained in classrooms while police and administrators raced through hallways, checking in vents and closets for an explosive device. Nothing was found.
Members of a district committee that recommends an annual budget to the Alpine Board of Education agreed with administrators that the cost of the security cameras should be juggled into this year's planned expenditures.
But the budget won't be ready for approval until June. That means that if the board votes in favors of shouldering the cost of the cameras, the equipment likely wouldn't be installed by the first day of school after the summer hiatus.
However, after the April 20 incident in which two Colorado students gunned down classmates and a teacher before turning the guns on themselves, Baugh, with full permission of the five elected school board members, asked staffers to accelerate getting bids for the security cameras.
"This has the full support of the board," Baugh said.
This isn't the first time administrators have requested funding for security cameras, however. Last year, the budget committee turned away a request by administrators for the safety cameras at all junior high and high schools, including the Alpine Life and Learning Center.
Safety policies and procedures will be discussed at Alpine's 7 p.m. board meeting tonight at the district's American Fork headquarters, 575 N. 100 East.
Provo's education board, which also meets at 7 p.m., will discuss how it trains teams of educators and administrators for a crisis. The board will meet at the district offices, 280 W. 940 North.
Neighboring Nebo School District has security cameras at its six junior high and high schools. Provo School District officials also are considering following the lead of Alpine, Nebo and some Salt Lake area districts in installing the devices.
MacNiel Ogden, principal of American Fork Junior High School, where the recent bombing of a men's room toilet has led to the arrest of three teenagers, said he "certainly" supports the safety initiative. Some $15,000 worth of camera equipment will be placed in the 1,200-student school.
Asked if he believes cameras will curb problems in schools, Ogden simply said: "You bet."