City, DCPS pronounces partnership with company specializing in safety doors, glass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The town of Jacksonville and Duval County school district on Wednesday introduced a brand new plan to maintain youngsters protected in the classroom.

The varsity district employed a New York firm named Armoured One, which specializes in doors and glass and claims it may slow down or forestall a shooter from getting into a classroom.

Those are crucial factors after police in Texas determined the door accessed by the gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was closed but not locked. Originally, state police mentioned a teacher left the door propped open. Investigators concluded the trainer actually closed the door, however it didn’t lock robotically prefer it was purported to. The gunman shot and killed 19 students and two teachers earlier than he was killed by regulation enforcement.

Armoured One, which was founded after the Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty shooting, is made up of former military and law enforcement agents who research mass capturing attacks and consult on faculty security measures.

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“We will first work collaboratively to determine the place Armoured One assets can finest compliment the training already supplied, adding their assets to the coaching instruments and assets the district already makes use of,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry mentioned Wednesday afternoon at a news convention at City Corridor to announce the partnership.

Press the play button immediately beneath to watch your entire news conference.

The safety glass and movie that Armoured One invented can withstand a number of hits -- whether or not that’s bullets, someone ramming into the glass or using other objects or weapons -- with out breaking, which could sluggish an attacker. The doors it uses have metal framing, latch bolts and deadbolts.

Armoured One can be recognized for offering active shooter training and assessments. The company issues individual reports for each constructing and recommends the most effective gear to use for each facility it’s working with.

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Curry stated he plans to find the funding for that coaching but also work with the corporate to perform college security assessments. Armoured One CEO Tom Czyz said his team is aware of what to search for when it assesses a college’s vulnerability.

“They’re taking a look at ways to slow down an attacker and velocity up police response,” Czyz said. “How do we sluggish him down -- and then pace up the response that may cease him.”

Duval County Public Faculties Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and Duval County Faculty Police Division Chief Greg Burton say safety and security are high of thoughts every day.

What I wish to be common is that our families know that we're ready every day. And that’s what we work towards being a greater school district because it pertains to safety and security,” Inexperienced mentioned.

Burton said, “I would say the one word that summarizes everything that we do is vigilance.”

Greene mentioned that the district’s finest defense is its students and workers. She mentioned she continues to encourage the college neighborhood to report something they see that’s suspicious.

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As far as the price, it’s unclear proper now, because the partnership continues to be being worked out.

Duval County voters authorized a half-cent sales tax in November 2020 with the specific objective of replacing ageing colleges, repairing an enormous backlog of maintenance points, and bolstering college security.

Right now, 74 tasks are in the design section and 15 are beneath construction.

As of January 2022, the tax has generated greater than $118 million dollars, with more than $5.7 million already spent or allotted to initiatives under development.

Over its 15-year life, the sales tax is projected to generate $64.9 million for the precise function of upgrading school safety in DCPS colleges.

More details about how that cash is deliberate to be spent in individual faculties could be discovered on the school district’s half-cent sales tax information dashboard.

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The next record of security measures is printed on the varsity district’s website:

Each school has a safety plan and emergency response staff.

All school school rooms are locked when occupied by students.

Faculty plans are reviewed with staff each semester.

The district has a highly educated college police department, giving all schools direct entry to high school useful resource officers.

The district makes use of varied main safety monitoring methods together with camera surveillance and monitored controlled entry programs.

All faculties and district places of work have a District Emergency Communications Network radio with direct access to high school police and district management. School Police have direct entry to JSO.

All colleges conduct regular evacuation drills (fire drills).

All faculties conduct regular emergency and lockdown (“code red” and “code yellow”) drills.

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