School Safety Upgrades to Cost Cinnaminson $200K

The Cinnaminson Board of Education is dedicated to improving school safety and security before the start of the next school year, according to Superintendent Salvatore Illuzzi. 

Included in the $44.3 million budget the board approved earlier this week is a $200,000 line item for capital improvements—specifically adding more cameras to all four schools, as well as the technology to support them. 

"What the board is looking at is adding more cameras to our schools that would look at the periphery, as well as inside the buildings," said Illuzzi. 

Some schools are already equipped with cameras, and some are not. But Illuzzi declined to go into specifics, for security reasons.

He said the district is meeting next week with the company that set up the Cinnaminson Police Department's security camera system, and the board would discuss the matter at its April 16 meeting.

Though the project still needs to be put out to bid, "the idea is to have something in place by the beginning of the 2013-14 school year," said Illuzzi.

The board is also still weighing the addition of a school resource officer from the police department, a plan pitched by Police Director Mickey King earlier this month. Illuzzi said the board is considering that plan, versus hiring a retired officer to fill the position, which early estimates show would cost roughly 25 percent less.

Illuzzi has spoken out against the latter option however, stating, "Having a police presence in uniform is a better deterrent. A police officer can actually take charge in an event, as opposed to a retired officer, who really can't pull the weight of a police officer."

The superintendent said he anticipates the board will also make that decision before the start of next school year.

What do you think? Should the district hire a retired officer to protect Cinnaminson's school buildings, or bring in a Cinnaminson police officer? Tell us in the comments below.