Another referendum project underway at River Falls High School

• High School retrofit

Phil Pfuehler photo.

Talk about it

It was ear-splittingly loud Thursday morning, June 14, at the high school’s main office as laborers using a concrete vacuum saw, crowbar and sledgehammer to rip and smash out a block wall. The work was part of the security retrofit going on this summer at the high school. The aim is to redirect visitors who enter the building to first pass through the office.

The November 2011 referendum that passed will eventually have all five school buildings with similar-arranged offices at the front entrances. School officials want to better protect students by checking who is coming and going from buildings.

Also this summer with referendum money, the high school’s camera system is being upgraded. Fifteen new, high-quality digital cameras will replace the old ones. The new surveillance cameras will provide much sharper images, can rotate and also zoom in.

Some cameras will be repositioned to scan for better angles inside and outside the school, including for the student parking lot.

The newly installed system has the potential to double the number of surveillance cameras in the future, depending on where and when they are needed, and if they can be afforded.

Referendum work at the high school, as at Rocky Branch Elementary, will be completed by Aug. 17, well ahead of the start of the school year.

Tags: river falls, news, k12