I-Team 8: Schools put to the test Pt. 5

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - While viewers have given us a lot of tips about security at schools, voters in Perry Township this week essentially voted down a big security upgrade at all the schools there.

Perry Township schools had hoped to use $6 million of a $98 million construction referendum to increase security in all schools. The district wanted to add more security cameras, give teachers the ability to lock down a classroom if an intruder threatens safety, and add more entryways like this one we showed you at Shelbyville High School which forces all visitors to enter the school through the main office.

“We felt that a secured entrance area was such a good option for us,” said Perry Superintendent Dr. Tom Little. “It's worked so well at our middle schools and high schools that we wanted to have that through the entire district,” Little said.

But voters in the district narrowly defeated the referendum meaning better security will have to wait.

WISH-TV received a lot of email as our stories aired. Many of you wanted us to test security at your child's school, which we'll continue to do. The biggest majority of the email was complimentary with messages like: great job, good piece and thanks for caring. Some were not so pleased: "Disappointed, Irresponsible" Some viewers thought by showing how we were able to walk into schools, we were giving the bad guys ideas.

We even obtained an email sent by David Woodward the top school security chief from the Indiana Department of Education to every school district in the state. The email says our report should prompt schools to review the process of visitor access.

Schools get state money to train one school safety specialist for every school district. “We push collaboration very strongly,” said Woodward. “We think it's so important that (security) plans have been reviewed by first responders, police, fire and emergency management,” said Woodward.

Other media picked up our investigation. After we showed how a student voluntarily let us in to Shelbyville High School, School administrators were forced to defend their security measures in the local paper. But the school underestimated the time it took for someone to actually question our presence.

It wasn't "perhaps ten seconds." With our surveillance video now posted online at wishtv.com you’ll see it's more like a minute.