The Board of Education approved the Safe Haven Defense window safety project Monday, March 4. The project costs $1.75 million and adds a protective tinted film to every ground-level piece of glass in district buildings which makes the glass more difficult to be shattered.

According to coordinator of safety and transportation Rob Moser, the district learned about the Safe Haven Defense project when they were exploring the possibility of glass tinting. 

“We originally looked into tinting glass on district buildings for a variety of benefits it offers,” Moser said. “While doing research, we were alerted to the product produced by Safe Haven Defense which provides more of a barrier to help protect glass. After attending demonstrations of this product, we were sold on the idea of protecting our schools in this fashion. The original idea to tint our windows is still included in this project.”

In an email sent to district employees, the window film offers “protection from someone being able to use glass as a potential entry point into the building” by preventing the glass from immediately shattering. With the glass intact after being shot or struck, this allows occupants to evacuate the building and time for first responders to arrive. 

“This project aligns with our efforts to better secure our facilities for students and staff,” Moser said. “We live in a period of time in our country that requires us to take these steps to help keep schools safe for learning.”

Media specialist Ashley Agre agrees that the protection and safety that the window film provides is necessary in the current state of the country. 

“I think for interior glass that it’s going to be worth it,” Agre said. “From the history of school shootings, we know that there has been some word that they’ve used guns to shoot through glass.”

Since the media center is filled with windows, Agre sees both positives and negatives to how the tinting of the windows will affect the library’s environment. 

“I’m very excited to have something on the windows to protect the books from the sun,” Agre said. “I’m a little concerned that it’s going to be too dark and it’s going to kind of ruin the whole ambiance of this room.”

While the tinted windows do provide a visual deterrent factor, they also provide energy saving benefits.  According to the Board of Education report, the project offers energy saving benefits that “could potentially offset the cost of this project within a three to five year time frame.”

Safe Haven Defense plans to begin installing the window film in April and finish before next school year.