BELLEVILLE, Ill. — In the wake of recent school shootings, including the one last month Central Visual Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis, officials in some school districts are taking additional steps to protect students and staff.
At Signal Hill School District in Belleville, officials have coated all the windows on the first floor with a protective plastic film. Bi-State Glass Coatings owner Randy Heuser did the work on Election Day, when school was not in session.
“These are the protective covers,” said Heuser. “They are an 8-mil safety film, manufactured by Madico. They’re one of the leaders in the industry for security film, and we at Bi-State Glass Coatings are an authorized dealer, specializing in safety and security film.”
What the film does
“It is shatterproof,” said Heuser, “so, if somebody was to knock this window and break it, this all would stay intact, and they would have to knock the window out of the whole unit before they could gain entry. So, it slows the process down of unwanted intruders.”
Kelly Bohnenstiehl is Signal Hill District superintendent.
“Providing that additional time for law enforcement response if something were to happen is important,” said Bohnenstiel. “That five minutes is huge in keeping that person from being able to gain entry.”
Heuser says when it comes to the installation of this protective film on exterior windows, his clients are increasingly school districts.
“Business has been increasing,” he said. “Every time you get a school shooting or some incident like that, we get phones ringing because they want to secure up their entryways.”
Steps like these afford school districts some level of protection.
Bohnenstiehl summed up the new reality in school districts.
"One thing we’re always looking for is to make sure we provide an environment that’s as safe as possible for students and staff," he said.