FREMONT, Ohio — Security at schools and universities has been ramped up all over the country according to a report on CBS News' Eye on America.
Northwest Ohio is no exception. A little over a year after Terra State Community College received state grant funding to improve security at campus entrances, surveillance cameras are now next.
Terra State was recently awarded more than $338,000 from the Ohio Department of Higher Education for campus security upgrades.
"The ultimate goal here is to make sure that we have eyes across campus, just in case any situations go on on campus," Terra State President Ron Schumacher said. "And into the future, we'll be looking at automatic locks going on all of the doors."
Campus Safety Manager Acacia Hull said the 80-plus cameras are currently installed in four separate monitoring systems.
The upgraded system will consolidate them all into one monitoring system.
"Being able to have them on one system will make everything a lot easier, more consistent," Hull said. And then if we ever need to collaborate with local law enforcement, it's just on one system. Easier to find, easier to track and a lot more helpful."
Along with the new system to monitor the cameras, the cameras themselves, many of which are pushing a decade old, will be swapped out for more modern replacements.
Terra State is also still in the process of upgrading its entrances.
All upgrades the community college would not have been able to afford without the state's assistance, Schumacher said.
"I really believe that this is one of those things where having the state come in and assist us with paying for this really does a great service to all of our faculty, staff and students on campus just to make sure everybody stays safe."
With ongoing supply chain issues, Terra State is not sure when all of the new equipment will be delivered. But, the plan is to have all of the new security equipment in place and installed by the end of June.