ASHLAND — The security cameras at the Ashland County Community Academy still run on Windows Vista, an operating system that recently turned 16 — old enough to be a student at the academy.
The academy’s servers are also in their teenage years, when they should be replaced every two or three years, an IT professional told ACCA’s assistant superintendent, Nichole Helenthal, last year.
“He said ‘I don’t know how long they’re gonna last, we’ve got them Band-Aided together’,” Helenthal said.
So last fall, Helenthal applied for two grants from Ohio’s K-12 School Safety Grant Program. After receiving a $50,000 grant from the program in January, Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced ACCA would be receiving another $50,000 in round four of the grant program.
While the first $50,000 will go toward the school’s cameras and servers, the most recent $50,000 will be used for smaller security upgrades like locks, tinted windows, and new radios, Helenthal said.
“This other $50,000 is going to enable us to update all the security features in the building that desperately need to be done that we just haven’t had the funds to do,” she said.
ACCA also recently received a $15,000 grant from the Ashland County Community Foundation, which Helenthal acknowledged.
“I’m just very thankful to both the state for offering this grant and to the Ashland County Community Foundation,” she said.
The Black River Local School District in northern Ashland county was also awarded grant money in round four of the program, netting the district $199,000 for security upgrades
Black River will use the money for a new key fob system, a new PA system for the elementary and middle school, lighting changes, and emergency buttons for every room, superintendent Chris Clark said.
“For example, if there’s an intruder alert they can hit that button and it’ll sound the alarm system,” he said.
