Lake Central updates phones, cameras at many schools

ST. JOHN — Phone systems that were at least 15 years old and security cameras that no one really knew how old they were are no longer a concern for the Lake Central Schools.

Technology Director Rick Moreno told the school board the phones in five of the schools — Bibich, Kolling, Peifer and Watson elementaries and Grimmer Middle School — were so outdated, the company that installed them said it could no longer find parts for them.

Moreno said there was a danger that, if the system went down, the schools might be without phone service for a couple of days. To prevent that, Northwest Communications, of Merrillville, installed new phone systems in all the schools over about a two-day period in June. The company was able to do the same for Homan Elementary over Christmas break.

The phones now are on the same system at all the schools and can dial between buildings using an extension number instead of calling the schools' main office. They also are equipped so voicemail automatically goes to the person's email. Total cost of the upgrade was $131,344.

Security cameras at the three middle schools — Grimmer, Kahler and Clark — also were replaced. Moreno said the cameras at Kahler were originally taken from the high school, and no one remembers how far back they had been in use. The resolution on all of them was so bad that faces of people were blurred beyond recognition.

Moreno said a recent federal inspection also pointed out that the one-week recording capacity of the cameras was woefully inadequate and at least 30 days should be available. The schools were provided all new equipment with up to 60 days of recording capacity by Crown Point-based Video Surveillance Systems.

It took the company about a week to install the cameras at each school, at a total cost of $89,165.

Superintendent Larry Veracco told the board a change in the way graduation rates are calculated could cause a drastic drop in the reported rate statewide that could have a negative impact on the state's ability to attract businesses.

Veracco shared a letter to U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., from state Public Instruction Superintendent Jennifer McCormick asking for help in changing the U.S. Department of Education mandate that general education diplomas no longer be included in the graduation rate calculations. McCormick said 8,000 Indiana students receive GEDs each year, and not counting them would drop the state's graduation rate from 89 percent to 76.5 percent.

Veracco said Lake Central's rate would drop 6.8 percent. He said the change is troubling because many students in technical education programs don't take the third year of math, which would not make them eligible for inclusion in the rate, and students with "learning differences" also receive the general diploma. The change also could mean a great many more schools would receive D and F grades for their overall performance.

Source: Lake Central updates phones, cameras at many schools