December 2023

The McCall-Donnelly School District received a grant for about $94,000 to improve school safety across the district.Grant funds will be used to upgrade eight doors in schools throughout the district, add new cameras to cover blind spots not currently captured and install video monitoring stations so that staff can view multiple cameras at once.Funding came from the Idaho State Board of Education’s Idaho School Safety and Security Program.Specific upgrades depend on the needs of each building, from hardware replacement, completely new doors or added security features, said M-D Superintendent Eric Pingrey.The security upgrades were made on recommendation of the district’s security assessment last year.In addition to the comprehensive evaluation, the district then held meetings with the McCall Police Department, McCall Fire & EMS and the Idaho State Police.As a result, emergency responders now hold drills inside schools to familiarize themselves with all buildings and have the ability to access all buildings.First responders will also be included in the regular monthly drills at each school, including fire, earthquake and lockdown drills to provide evaluations, Pingrey said.McCall police and the Valley County Sheriff’s Office also have access to district video systems in an emergency he said.Outer doors to each school in the district will all be operated with a “buzz-in” system controlled from inside.