PARIS — Maine School Administrative District 17 got a significant boost to its safety and security plans last week when it learned it has been awarded a $500,000 Community Oriented Policing Services grant.

The grant requires SAD 17 to contribute a $167,000 match, funds included in the district’s 2024-25 school budget proposal.

The grant is part of an overall $1.8 million package from COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program funding distributed to schools in Maine’s Second Congressional District. Lewiston Public Schools is also slated to receive $500,000.

SAD 17 established a safety committee last August that includes district personnel, school resource officers, municipal and Oxford County law enforcement and other community partners.

Paris and Oxford Police Departments have school resource officers in Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, Oxford Hills Elementary School, Oxford Hills Middle School and Paris Elementary School. Supplied photo

The committee was tasked by the school board with developing goals and priorities for improving and upgrading security systems.

It established three goals: to update its emergency operations plans and align its procedures with federal Readiness and Emergency Management standards, to expand emergency training for staff districtwide, and to make recommendations on the steps to achieve them.

“Our third goal is prescribed by SAD 17’s strategic framework,” Assistant Superintendent and District Safety Committee Chair Steve Ciembroniewicz said. “Our recommendations include a $1.5 million investment over the next three years, which is a serious statement of its importance.

“We will expand our ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) drill training. We’d already begun ALICE training through a pilot program and are now implementing it in all of our elementary schools.

“It’s the response system when you encounter an armed intruder, or other dangerous threat, in the school. It’s a flexible response, informed response. In the past, emergency drills called for people to huddle in a corner (for safety). ALICE is a different approach. It may be a better option to evacuate instead (of sheltering in classrooms).”

The committee also recommended improving traffic and safety around school sites, especially on Viking Way, the access road to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, playing fields and Central Office.

Maine School Administrative District 17 has secured a $500K COPS grant it will use to upgrade surveillance technology inside and outside its buildings districtwide. Supplied image

Another recommendation is prioritizing infrastructure and technology upgrades, including access control of the buildings, surveillance and communication systems.

The final recommendation was to define the position of a dedicated safety director, which Ciembroniewicz expects to become a discussion in future personnel planning.

“Improving technology is a big one, especially with this COPS grant,” he said. As soon as the budget is finalized and the $167,000 matching funds can be expended, “it will enable us to upgrade our surveillance districtwide and modernize our building notification systems. Notifications go beyond the traditional office intercom notices.”

The grant application was made through the U.S. Department of Justice, which administers SVPP funding, late last spring.

“It’s a highly competitive, national program,” Ciembroniewicz said. “Five hundred thousand is the maximum they award, so we were thrilled when we got word last week.

“Our superintendent, our school board chair, they are 100% committed to the issue of school safety. The committee will continue to capitalize on securing resources to accomplish our goals, including whatever grant opportunities we can identify.”