More than 100 Freeport parents and community residents attended a parent university on school safety and security held prior to the district's board of education meeting. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham, who facilitated the meeting, was joined on the panel by the board of education, administrators and Freeport Village Police Chief Miguel Bermudez.
"Thank you for being here this evening to have a conversation about the health and safety in our schools and the partnership Freeport Public Schools has with the Village of Freeport Police Department," said Dr. Kuncham.
The safety and security of students, staff and visitors has always been the number one priority of the board of education and administration. The district's security plans and protocols are regularly reviewed and updated as needed. While the specific details of the district's security plans must remain confidential to maximize their effectiveness in the event of an emergency, an overview of the plans was provided.
There is a districtwide health and safety committee in addition to the ones at each school. By law, the district must provide their safety plan to the State Education Department for review and approval and the plan must be updated annually. The district is required to hold a minimum of 12 drills including eight fire drills and four lockdown drills. The district currently has 32 security aides and more than 400 strategically located surveillance cameras that monitor both internal and external activity and monitoring stations. The district also has an agreement with the Village of Freeport Police and the Nassau County Police Department enabling them to gain immediate access to the district's security cameras in real time, in the event of an emergency. Should a school lockdown be needed, it can be activated by the push of a button and it will also activate notification to the police.
Police chief Miguel Bermudez shared that the Freeport Village Police and the Freeport Public Schools have always had a strong partnership and a shared
