L-R: Carlucci; Dave Dejong, Senior Account Manager at Goosetown Communications;
CCSD Superintendent Marty Cox
NEW CITY – Hundreds of new walkie-talkies are being used by Clarkstown Central School District resource officers and staff to help improve school safety.
The walkie-talkies were purchased in part with $40,000 in state funding secured by state Senator David Carlucci in the wake of several school shootings across the nation. He addressed the funding at a press conference held at the Clarkstown School District offices in New City.
“The Clarkstown Central School District now has high end walkie-talkie’s for staff to use across the district to keep students even safer. Unlike cell phones, walkie-talkies allow for quicker direct communication in an emergency. I am glad the state funding I secured helped the district continue its proactive approach to student safety,” said Carlucci.
“On behalf of our entire school community, I want to thank Senator Carlucci for his Bullet Aid funding to the school district, which went towards the purchase of about 360 Motorola walkie-talkie radios that were distributed among our 13 schools in the district,” said School Superintendent Marty Cox. “Safety is our top priority and communication that is done effectively in the schools will keep our students safe.”
The district invested a total of about $200,000 for the walkie-talkie system. Now staff and security at the school can use them to communicate more easily in an emergency. According to security officials, radios outpace cell phones it terms of reliability, durability, and functionality.
In an emergency, a cell phone could take more time to operate, and may not work due to a dropped call or a school dead zone. With walkie-talkies, someone can instantly alert not just one person, but everyone on that channel. Walkie-talkies also have a longer battery life than a cell phone.
