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Plans for increased safety measures approved

CRESSON — Steps toward improving security and incident reporting within the Penn Cambria School District were approved by school officials Tuesday evening.

School board members voted unanimously to approve a $2,575 contract with Gaggle Safety Management, an Illinois company, to provide student-oriented communications technology, Penn Cambria Superintendent William Marshall said.

The contract with Gaggle, will allow for the implementation of a “SpeakUp” tip line for students.

Marshall said students will be able to call or send electronic messages into the tip line if they want to report issues, such as suspicious behavior, perceived threats or a potential suicide.

Those are only a few of the reportable issues, Marshall said, repeatedly answering, “anything,” when asked what type of information can be called in.

When a student calls into the tip line about an emergency situation, the Gaggle system will forward that information to both state and local police, as well as Penn Cambria administrators, Marshall said.

“We will investigate everything,” Marshall said.

On Tuesday, Marshall said the specifics of how to report to the tip line were not yet available, but, by August, contact information likely will be heavily circulated, with letters, posters and magnets promoting the Gaggle system throughout the district.

At the meeting, school board members also voted to enter into an agreement with Standing Stone Consulting Inc., a Huntingdon County security company.

According to the company’s website, Standing Stone Consulting’s goal is to help clients understand “the threats they face, how they are vulnerable to those threats and what the consequences would be if an incident occurred.”

“We’re looking at a three-phase project,” Marshall said.

The first phase would include a risk and vulnerability assessment of all of the district’s buildings, Marshall said.

The second would consist of using that assessment to develop a “safe schools plan.”

And the third would include staff training, which will officials hope will commence at the beginning of next school year, Marshall said.

On Tuesday, a price for Standing Stone Consulting’s services was not yet available, Marshall said. When determined, the price will be revealed, he said.

Standing Stone Consulting’s services were recommended by the district’s contacted law firm, Beard Legal Group, Marshall said.

Tuesday’s security contract approvals came after requests from community members, who asked that metal detectors be installed near building entrances, district administrators said.

They also come at a time when the frequency of school shootings and student suicides has risen across the country.

Marshall said the contract approvals were made to keep up with “the changing of the times.”

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