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CMS gets approval for $4.6 million security plan

Superintendent Earnest Winston said the $4.6 million had already been approved for expansion of the failed crisis alert system CMS installed last school year.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County leaders voted Tuesday to approve a $4.6 million security plan for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools after the district's new "crisis alert" system was deemed a failure by administrators

The crisis alert system was implemented in numerous campuses across the district before CMS leaders went back to the drawing board and told Mecklenburg County commissioners they needed more funding for a new plan. The commissioners approved CMS' proposal for $4.6 million in additional funding for security measures in 2021. 

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That money will go toward a number of items, including camera servers at schools in the district, which provide a live feed of all campuses. The district will either replace or install 196 of 7,200 security cameras currently installed at CMS schools. The district will also install new video camera doorbells and standardized signage for first responders at all CMS campuses.

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The new CMS security plan will expand the use of ID badges and electronic door locks, including new badge software. More than $300,000 will go toward replacing all exterior doors at every high school in the district. 

"This is an additional layer of security that we're proposing with the $4.6 million that had been previously approved to expand the security alert system which we're no longer moving forward with," said Superintendent Earnest Winston. 

RELATED: CMS Board of Education requests school staff be a priority for coronavirus vaccine

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