Clarkstown Central School District Now Using New Walkie-Talkies to Improve School Safety With The Help of State Funding

New City, NY – Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester) joined Clarkstown Central School District Superintendent, Marty Cox on Tuesday to discuss hundreds of new walkie-talkies being used by school resource officers and staff to help improve school safety.

The walkie-talkies were purchased in part with $40,000 in state funding secured by Senator Carlucci in the wake of several school shootings. He addressed the funding at a press conference held at the Clarkstown School District offices in New City.

“The Clarkstown Central School District now has high end walkie-talkie’s for staff to use across the district to keep students even safer. Unlike cell phones, walkie-talkies allow for quicker direct communication in an emergency. I am glad the state funding I secured helped the district continue its proactive approach to student safety,” said Senator David Carlucci.

“On behalf of our entire school community, I want to thank Senator Carlucci for his Bullet Aid funding to the school district, which went towards the purchase of about 360 Motorola walkie-talkie radios that were distributed among our 13 schools in the district,” said Clarkstown Central School District Superintendent Marty Cox. “Safety is our top priority and communication that is done effectively in the schools will keep our students safe.”

The district invested a total of about $200,000 for the walkie-talkie system. Now staff and security at the school can use them to communicate more easily in an emergency. According to security officials, radios outpace cell phones it terms of reliability, durability, and functionality.

In an emergency, a cell phone could take more time to operate, and may not work due to a dropped call or a school dead zone. With walkie-talkies, someone can instantly alert not just one person, but everyone on that channel. Walkie-talkies also have a longer battery life than a cell phone.

“Sadly we need our schools to be prepared for any type of emergency. In 2018, there were 87 school shootings, and since 1970 school shootings have claimed 716 lives. Seconds matter in an emergency, and we want school staff to have every safety tool at their disposal,” said Senator Carlucci.

School staff began using the walkie-talkies at the beginning of this school year.