WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) - The Wilson County School District unanimously approved security film for their schools on Monday.
Last July, the state passed a bill requiring new school buildings, or those being remodeled, to include this protective window film.
Wilson County joins a growing list of Tennessee school districts that are approving these security films with prospective bidders. In their case, the school board agreed to hire Osteen Construction in Chattanooga to install 3M, shatter-resistant glass films across their 24 brick-and-mortar campuses.
The district expects the installation process, which will cost just over $900,000, to take roughly six to eight months, starting this summer. This is the latest in a long string of school security upgrades for the district. For instance, Wilson County was one of the first districts in Tennessee to outfit School Resources Officers across all their schools, decades ago.
They view this security film as beneficial in more ways than one.
“The security film, take it away from school hours, this film that is going to be installed, we feel can be combative against any time of potential vandalism, break-ins, those sorts of things, but the use for it goes well beyond just the normal school day. It is around the clock,” explained Bart Barker, public information officer for Wilson County Schools.
In a time where school security protocols are rapidly evolving, Barker said this change won't be the last for their district.
“We’re never going to stop finding ways to build on what we already have to keep our entire school community safe on campus. It will never stop," he said.
Barker described this measure as being “proactive, rather than reactive.” In other words, they aren’t adding this new security layer in response to anything specific.
“When we add these things, it’s not necessarily because of something that’s happened directly to us, it’s something that we want to incorporate to ensure that we can keep moving forward in the safest environment possible.”
Other Tennessee school districts that are in the process of installing this protective film include Sumner County, Robertson County, and Franklin Special School District.