Applicant meridien community unit school district #223 (meridien cusd) will use awarded funds to purchase and install a state-of-the art digital public address system and surveillance cameras in…

Applicant meridien community unit school district #223 (meridien cusd) will use awarded funds to purchase and install a state-of-the art digital public address system and surveillance cameras in each of the districts four school buildings. Partners to the meridien cusd school violence prevention program project include the ogle county sheriffs office and the stillman fire protection district. The geographic area to be served is marion township and the village of monroe center, ogle county, illinois. This project will benefit the meridien school community, including staff, visitors, and approximately 1,700 elementary and secondary students, all of whom will benefit from the implementation of the school safety technology supported by this project. The goal of this project is to improve safety and emergency communication in all four schools within the district using proven monitoring and public address technology. Project objectives are to: upgrade the existing security cameras in the high school to maintain optimal coverage; install new security cameras in the two elementary schools and the junior high school to achieve optimal coverage, from barely 25% to 100%; and upgrade the existing district PA system so that 100% of locations within all four buildings are accessible to PA announcements and alerts (current coverage is approximately 80%) and that allows for immediate mass digital notifications and alarms in the event of emergencies. Primary activities for which funds are requested are to: 1) purchase and install an integrated digital safety solutions public address/mass notification/alarm system in each building; and 2) purchase and install an appropriate number of exterior and interior (hallways and common areas) surveillance cameras and associated cabling, supports, jacks, mounts, and other equipment and materials needed to support security camera usage at highland elementary school, monroe center elementary school, meridian junior high school, and stillman valley high school.