Indian Prairie District 204 to add security positions at all its high schools

As a way to maintain safety and security procedures, Indian Prairie School District 204 is adding new positions at its high schools geared toward providing building coverage and supervision after school is dismissed for the day.

The district’s school board approved a measure last week that would add one additional security position at each district high school — to the tune of about $150,000 to $200,000 annually.

Indian Prairie already employs school resource officers at its three high schools and seven middle schools.

The district has made building safety a cornerstone of its recent bond sale-funded renovations. It plans to spend about $50 million on safety- and security-related projects — including the construction of secure entryways at all of the district’s schools, which require visitors to the district’s buildings to first interact with the main office before they can get into the school.

But this new position would be focused specifically on providing building coverage and supervision at the district’s high schools from the time the final bell rings until the end of each building’s after-school activities.

Indian Prairie doesn’t currently have a dedicated person to maintain safety and security procedures after dismissal at the high schools, according to a district memo, putting a “heavy burden” on the buildings’ administrative teams.

Called a “School Safety and Security Lead,” the individual working in this new role would do things like monitor entries and exits, work with coaches and program directors and — as needed — communicate with police and emergency responders and report incidents to the district’s safety team, the memo states.

The job’s responsibilities include monitoring the school campus using technology and physical patrols, using de-escalation techniques for “low-level conflicts or unauthorized presence on campus” and verifying authorized access for after-school facility rentals and community groups, per the job description for the role.

“I think this is … very much needed,” District 204 board member Susan Taylor-Demming said at Tuesday’s school board meeting, at which the new positions were given the green light. “I think it will keep … all that are in the buildings after hours safe and a sense of reassurance.”

The total cost for adding these positions is estimated at about $150,000 to $200,000 annually, according to the district, though officials have cited that Neuqua Valley freshmen moving out of the Birkett Center and a projected increase in rental income could offset the costs in future years.

According to a memo included as part of the Aug. 11 meeting agenda, the district plans to evaluate the change over the course of the school year to ensure that the proposal is working as intended.

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com