Ludington schools bond: Safety measures.

Ludington schools bond: Safety measures.

LUDINGTON — On Tuesday, May 7, voters in the Ludington Area School District are being asked to decide on a 2.32 mills bond issue which will build a new kindergarten through fifth grade complex, and completely renovate the middle school/high school complex, among some other facility improvements (see more details here).

The district has been asked several questions about the bond. Superintendent Jason Kennedy sat down with MCP recently to answer some of the questions. Over the next week, we will run a series of posts with answers to many of the questions. These questions and answers also appear on the district’s website. The accompanying video includes Kennedy’s full interview. 

Q: What safety measures would be addressed if voters approved the bond proposal? 

A: The following list identifies many of the safety and security features that would be addressed if approved by voters: 

• Safe and secure entrances for the middle school, high school and new elementary building, including secure vestibules with appropriate sight lines (interior and exterior views). 
• Entrances will be well defined to help visitors determine where the main access point is located. 
• Building entrances and exits will be labeled to aid first responders in the event of an emergency.
• New video surveillance systems throughout all buildings.
• New electronic access controls to be incorporated throughout all buildings – monitoring entrances and exits, and allows the ability to create a secure lockdown.
• New addressable fire alarm systems throughout.
• Fire protection / suppression systems throughout.
• Safe and Secure Sites:
  • Separation/delineation of vehicular traffic, bus traffic and pedestrian traffic.
  • Clear boundary delineation (between school property and adjacent).
  • New exterior building and site lighting.
  • Age appropriate playground design.
  • Implement best practices as it pertains to classroom design / overall building design.
  • Improved classroom door locking (able to lock from interior of the classroom).
  • Design that helps minimize the possibility of forced entry into classrooms.
  • Design the proper amount of transparency between classrooms and common areas (allows for natural surveillance, but still provides adequate opportunities for shelter).
  • Classroom wings that allow the building to be separated into multiples zones, in the event of a lockdown.
  • Renovations to the middle school and high school include improving the buildings to comply with current building codes, including A.D.A. accessibility.

Tomorrow: What happens to the old buildings?