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By Alex Zimmerman, Chalkbeat New York
In the wake of a deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, New York City officials sought to reassure families Friday that they are beefing up school security.
City officials said the work to outfit schools with video-equipped doorbells will start at elementary schools in May. Schools Chancellor David Banks said the rollout would take place “over a number of months” with the goal of reaching all school buildings by next spring.
Currently, school visitors must sign in with school safety agents. But under the new plan, they would first need to be buzzed into the building instead of walking in through an unlocked door.
“Something that keeps me up at night is when I look around the country and I see the issues that are happening with these mass shootings,” Banks said during a school safety briefing. He added: “We’re going to do everything we can to prevent something like that from happening.”
The $78 million plan to lock school doors was first revealed in the mayor’s preliminary budget in January, but officials did not say at the time when they anticipated completing the project.
The school safety briefing on Friday included top City Hall and police department officials and comes as violence near school campuses has rattled some communities in New York City and across the country. Though extremely rare, mass school shootings like those in Uvalde, Texas, and more recently in Nashville, often create pressure on school districts to “harden” their campuses with new security measures.
City officials also pointed to several previously announced measures to bolster campus safety, including bringing violence interrupters and mentors to nearly 140 schools and instituting more regular meetings between school principals and police precinct commanders.
But the plan to lock school building doors is one of the most significant changes to school security in recent years, drawing mixed reactions from experts and school communities.
School entrances are already monitored by school safety agents, and experts said it’s unclear how much additional safety value there is in locking them. The doors also won’t be locked during arrival or dismissal, creating stretches of time when the locks won’t be in use. Some parents have pushed for the door-locking policy, though others worry it will make families feel less welcome on campus.
“Obviously, you read about school shootings and it’s scary for all of us, so everyone wants to do something,” a Brooklyn principal previously told Chalkbeat. “But mostly what we need to do is keep doing our jobs and not create a new obstacle.”
Others have pointed out that most serious instances of violence affecting young people have occurred outside school buildings, raising questions about whether the door-locking project is the best use of resources.
City officials on Friday indicated that they’re also planning to bolster the ranks of school safety agents. The unarmed police department employees are stationed in schools and will be tasked with operating the buzzer systems.
The number of school safety agents fell about 20% during the pandemic to just under 4,000, which police Commissioner Keechant Sewell suggested was largely the result of a previous hiring freeze for the role.
“We intend to hire up to the point where we were before if we can,” Sewell said.
But that appears to be at odds with Mayor Eric Adams’ preliminary budget, which calls for eliminating hundreds of vacant school safety positions, according to a recent report from the city’s Independent Budget Office. Spokespeople for City Hall and the education and police departments did not immediately respond to a question about the discrepancy. A more detailed budget proposal from the mayor is expected later this month.
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
School doors should always be locked.
I understand how locking the doors gives parents a sense of safety, but looking at the history of school shootings, it’s not an effective use of $78 million. The Nashville shooter blew through the doors with an automatic weapon. Many shootings are carried out by students themselves. And what would stop a person from being buzzed in while concealing a weapon? As the article points out, during arrival and dismissal, the doors are unlocked, too. Sadly, those busy, chaotic times would be a prime opportunity for a shooter to gain access.
As a parent, I want the doors locked. Anything is possible but locked doors add security.
Came here to say that. It’s like setting up the TSA after 9/11. Offers a sense of security but mostly just security theater.
I’m in favor of this, but that’s a lot of money per school.
Judging from your previous comments, you are ok with spending millions on migrants whose children also attend local schools?
Umm… not sure why you’re attacking me. James is a pretty common name. I think you’re referring to someone else.
Sorry, meant James from the previous discussion.
Years ago I visited a school in Harlem and there was so much security that I felt like I was in a prison. There were guards, metal detectors ,and locked gates on each floor. I thought the gates were horrific so I’m not advocating that, but isn’t it possible to install large scale metal detectors on the outer perimeters of the school so weapons don’t even make in onto the campus?
Scary and sad. It has to be done, but scary and sad nevertheless.
Mass school shootings are “extremely rare”? Are you kidding?
They are rare in NYC but Not in other parts of the country! There are actually A Lot of mass shootings not only in schools but in many venues and areas! Not that rare.
They are rare in that the likelihood of a school shooting happening at your school is very very low. But tell that to those whose school has one. But comparing our rate (USA) versus any other country in the world and it is much less rare here than anywhere else.
They are rare all over the world but not in America!
The Onion publishes the same headline after each mass shooting: “No way to prevent this says only nation where it regularly happens.”
Freedom is rare all over the world too.
So mass Shootings are a sign of freedom? I think they are a sign that Republicans love their guns more than they love our kids and other human beings.
Ah, the sweet freedom of every wacko being able to pick up a machine gun next to the milk aisle, and walk into a school. Amazing how the rest of the world lives without it.
Associating guns with freedom is totally lost on me. I don’t get the logic.
That would be 2a in the Constitution. We are free to defend ourselves.
Only in America do we have the freedom to buy AR15s & assault rifles to kill children is not freedom?
Right… Europe is completely enslaved by the lack of guns in the arms of civilians.
The doors in Nashville were almost all glass. Almost all nyc PS were built decades ago and have heavy fireproof steel doors
You are right, If they are not strong they should be changed asap.
And bullet proof windows?
I’m impressed! Am I missing something but I don’t think any other school districts are taking this approach!
Ban the damned guns!
Why did the DOE wait so long to do this?
The gun lobby owns congress (read republican) and until we begin to re-interpret the second amendment their heads will still not be on their shoulders.
Ours is the best congress money can buy.
You got that right, Jo! The majority of gun owners think there should be mandatory background checks—it’s the gun manufacturers who lobby against it because it would hurt their bottom line!
Maybe they should be sued like drug companies that hard-sell opiates?
“Some parents have pushed for the door-locking policy, though others worry it will make families feel less welcome on campus.” Well we certainly wouldn’t want anyone to feel less welcome. Nevermind the safety of the children, let’s make sure every single parent feels welcome. *shaking my head*