CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Chesapeake City Council has approved a $2 million emergency appropriation to improve the security of Chesapeake schools and facilities.
In a memo from City Manager James Baker to Mayor Rick West and the members of the City Council, it’s explained that a group of employees from the Chesapeake School District, along with city staff, have been reviewing existing school safety measures and protocols, as well as ways to improve them.
As a result of those efforts, “a number of immediate opportunities” to enhance safety were identified. The memo lists heightened access controls and improved video surveillance as a few of the measures.
The request for the $2 million emergency appropriation to cover the new security measures was unanimously approved in an 8-0 vote.
The memo notes that improvements will begin immediately, though it’s unlikely all improvements will be completed by the end of the fiscal year and funding will likely need to be carried over into the next fiscal year.
