For immediate Release

Press Release

Local Businesses Take School Security into Their Own Hands

Businesses in Rural Township in Ohio Raise Money for School Security After Voters Say No

CLEVELAND, OH, January 14, 2019: Frustrated, angry and faced with aging school buildings, three failed school levies and a lack of state funds, local businesses in a rural township in Northern Ohio are determined to make their schools more secure and protect their students. More than fifteen business in the rural Crestwood School District have come together in an unprecedented grass roots movement to raise money to secure and ready the schools in an effort to protect their children from possible active shooters and other threats. Donations have ranged from $250 up to over $10,000 per business. One inventive business has produced and is selling a calendar featuring photos of these local businesses that so far has brought in $20,000. All funds from this grass roots movement are donated to the school district and put into a special account earmarked specifically for school security upgrades.

The Crestwood School District is comprised of Mantua Village, Mantua Township, Shalersville Township, Hiram Village and Hiram Township. The Crestwood School District is 21 miles from Chardon, OH where there was a school shooting in 2012. Spurred into action by the recent Parkland School shootings and two failed school levies, Larry and Joe Kotkowski, owners of Lakeside Sand & Gravel, Inc. started to raise money on their own. Soon, many other businesses joined in and now, this small rural area is making sure that their students are going to be as safe as possible in school. Joe Kotkowski stated "I hope that our grass roots movement will become a catalyst for voters to see the need to pass much needed levies to protect our students. We live in a rural area that includes farms so money can be tight, but the safety and security of our students must be addressed."

SACS Consulting, Inc. (www.sacsconsulting.com), who has also donated over $6,000 to the project, has been hired to conduct a complete security assessment of all the school buildings in the Crestwood District, many of which date back to the 1950's. There are two lower schools, one middle school and one high school in the district serving 1750 students.

Timothy Dimoff, President of SACS Consulting said "Every student deserves to feel safe in school. We are conducting a thorough security assessment with recommendations to make sure that happens. In older school buildings, easy access through windows and unsecured means of entry are of great concern and must be addressed. We will also make suggestions as to security measures that can be implemented by staff, as well as actual physical security upgrades to the buildings."

Both the Mantua Chief of Police, and the Portage County Sheriff welcome this help. As in many areas, recent budget cuts are a security concern and the money raised by the local businesses can help to provide a better level of security to keep the students safe. Portage County Sheriff David

Crestwood Schools Press Release Page 2

Doak said "Being so spread out, it is a challenge to have sheriff deputies on hand to cover an area of 503 square miles."  Police Chief Joe Urso stated "The voters have said they don't want to pay for new schools, so we welcome the money raised by these local businesses to make security better at our existing schools. We must put the safety of our students first."

This is a fund-raising model that can be utilized in many areas of the country as voters are unable or unwilling to pass levies for school security. As school shootings are unfortunately a part of our society, these security improvements, along with other measures, will help to keep our students safe.

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