Scottsdale Schools to be run like prisons???

Scottsdale Schools to be run like POW camps???

Also the schools in the Scottsdale school district will now be run like like prisons where the students are treated like inmates, rather then students.

Source

Tighter security first lesson in Scottsdale this school year

By Laurie Merrill and Mary Beth Faller The Republic | azcentral.com Mon Aug 5, 2013 9:35 AM

Parents and students will notice increased safety and security measures in the Scottsdale Unified School District when school resumes this week.

Classes begin Wednesday, and some of the changes will affect parents before they even get to the school buildings.

School-zone cameras

Scottsdale has become the first municipality in the region to launch portable school towers, new devices that look like phone booths but conceal cameras, police said.

The two units, which began issuing citations July 21, will be rotated through Scottsdale’s 31 school zones, according to police.

Unlike typical speed cameras that snap photos when a car exceeds the limit by 11 mph, the school towers click into action at 6 mph over the limit.

The speed limit is 15 mph between the portable signs erected when school is in session, according to state law.

Motorists in the zones may not pass other vehicles and must stop when anyone is in the crosswalk.

Failure to stop when a child is in the crosswalk could mean double fines.

Violators face fines of $219 and $305 and are not eligible for traffic school, according to Scottsdale City Court. They must appear in court.

The Scottsdale, Cave Creek and Paradise Valley unified school districts all have campuses in Scottsdale, as well as several charter and private schools.

Scottsdale police in June tested a portable tower on Miller Road, Officer Dave Pubins said. From June 4 to 6, the devices recorded 130 violations, though no citations were issued during the test phase, Pubins said.

When school is not in session, the tools will be placed near other pedestrian high-traffic areas, such as parks, pools, shopping areas and sports fields, Pubins said.

The Scottsdale City Council in December approved a five-year contract with American Traffic Solutions, the company contracted to provide photo enforcement in the city.

The school towers and two mobile photo-enforcement vans were included in the contract, which also called for adding cameras to eight new intersections and more electronic-feedback signs, police said.

The devices can be used in places with too little room for the vans, Pubins said. Scottsdale will keep deploying the vans in school zones that have enough parking and continue to use patrol officers, police said.

The contract calls for the city to pay ATS $1.2 million the first year, the same amount it paid last year, according to a City Council report.

Officials said the program is essentially self-supporting, citing revenue generated from traffic penalties. In fiscal 2010-11, the program put about $925,000 back into city coffers, the report said.

‘Gate-to-gate’ security

Parents will no longer be allowed to walk their children to the classroom door under a stricter security policy in the Scottsdale district.

James Dorer, chief of security for the district, said the schools will start a “gate-to-gate” philosophy, meaning that gates at all campuses will be closed.

In the morning, parents who choose to park instead of using the drop-off lane must leave their children at the gate, where staff will take them to their classrooms or the playgrounds. The same rules apply for afternoon pickup.

Parents who want to go to a classroom must sign in at the front office and get a visitor badge.

“We know parents like to walk their kids to the classroom,” he said, and it has been common for most elementary schools to leave the gates open for classroom drop-off and pickup.

“But that becomes a weak spot,” he said of the congregated adults outside the classrooms. “We don’t truly know if they are parents and what their intentions are.

“The vast majority are parents who are supposed to be there, and they are welcome, but we need to have a process.”

Badges required

All parents on Scottsdale district campuses will be required to get a visitor badge at the front office, even if they are quickly visiting a classroom.

“I’m trying to stress that anytime anyone is on a campus, they have to have an ID (badge) visible, so someone who doesn’t have one sticks out. That’s the goal,” Dorer said.

However, the district is tweaking its philosophy on ID badges for students. A year ago, Dorer outlined a plan that would eventually require all students to wear ID badges at all times. This year, middle- and high-school students will be required to wear them but not younger students.

“We had some successes and some setbacks as with any first-year program,” he said. “There has been mixed reception to it.”

Dorer said that some parents of elementary students didn’t support the plan, and that enforcement varied among campuses.

Elementary students still are supposed to keep their ID badges with them this year, but there won’t be daily enforcement, Dorer said.

Middle- and high-school students still will be required to wear their badges, and that was a mixed bag last year, too. A missing badge, which costs $5 to replace, was considered a dress-code violation, and the district recorded a 900 percent increase in that type of violation last year.

Dorer said that in the workplace, employees are required to wear security badges. “We’re trying to prep our students for that world.

“It’s a change of culture, and it will take time.”