Milan, IN— As the 2019-20 school year begins, the teachers in the high school/middle school building should feel more secure this year. Over the summer, new locks were installed on all classroom doors in the high school/middle school building replacing locks that were several years old. The new classroom locks are electronic and the access card teachers use to gain entry into the building will also be used to lock and unlock their classrooms. In addition, each classroom has a remote control about the size of a garage door opener teachers can use to lock their classroom doors remotely from anywhere in the room. The new lock system also allows the school resource officer to lock down every classroom in the building simultaneously with a couple of mouse clicks from his computer.
The locks are ArchiTech locks by Networx purchased through Marshall Best Security out of Fishers, IN. Though the entire system operates electronically, each lock operates independently on battery power. Once the lock has been programmed for access, any access card that has been programmed to operate that lock will still work even if there is a power outage. These are the same type of locks installed on the Milan Elementary School classroom doors last fall. The total cost of the project was $55,000 however, there was no cost incurred by Milan Community Schools thanks to grant funding obtained from the Rising Sun Regional Foundation and the Chester and Ruth Baylor Family Foundation. Jane Rogers, Milan Schools Superintendent commented, “We so appreciate the Rising Sun Regional Foundation and the Chester and Ruth Baylor Family Foundation for their generosity in making this upgrade in our school security possible. Without their support, we would have had to phase in the lock upgrade project over a period of two and possibly three years.”
The first student day at Milan Community Schools is Thursday, August 8.
