Wednesday, January 20, 1999
Kenton studies schools' help line
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ERLANGER — A toll-free, 24-hour help line could offer Kenton County students, parents and residents a place to share concerns about school safety.
The system would allow callers to leave information anonymously. The information is then forwarded to the school superintendent or principal.
The Kenton County Schools Board of Education is studying the costs and logistics of creating the help line.
“One thing we've tried to do is develop and maintain an open relationship with the kids,” Superintendent Neil Stiegelmeyer said. “The thought was that maybe we need something else.”
One of the systems Kenton County is looking at is already at work in several Cincinnati school districts.
A toll-free number
Provided by Security Voice Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, the toll-free number allows a person to call in a complaint, concern or information about an incident. The system prompts a caller to leave very specific information, including names, times and dates, and the city their school is in.
The call is then transcribed and a printout is sent to the appropriate school official, who also receives a phone call.
If the help line call is made during the day, school officials receive the information within 30 minutes, said Pat Sullivan, Security Voice Inc. president. If the call comes overnight, school officials are called and a report is waiting for them when they arrive at school in the morning.
Loveland schools started using the system last year. Superintendent Michael Cline said he likes the service.
“It serves as much as a deterrent as anything else,” Mr. Cline said. “It wasn't like we had a huge need for it. We see it as a tool to anticipate problems.”
Another service
Kenton County's Mr. Stiegelmeyer said he sees the help line as one more service that can improve school safety. The district is studying plans from Security Voice and Phone Master.
Costs run $1.50 to $2 a student.
Security Voice charges districts 15 cents a student per month, or $1.80 a year. For a district like Kenton County, with more than 12,200 students, the total cost would be about $21,960.
Security Voice started offering the school help line two years ago and already serves more than 800 school districts, including Mason, Princeton, and some schools in Butler and Warren counties.
Mr. Sullivan said more than 50 percent of calls come from parents who overhear their children and friends talking about other students.
Campbell County Schools are considering the purchase of a similar system as part of its safe schools plan. Campbell County High School already has an internal anonymous call-in line that students can use to report incidents to the principal.
Boone County Schools are also looking at creating their own help line. Superintendent Bryan Blavatt said he would rather use an internal system to ensure officials would get the information right away.
He said the real key is to create an environment in the schools where students feel comfortable talking to teachers and other adults. Mr. Blavatt did say a help line could help cut down on incidents like truancy, where people could report a student not going to classes.
Security Voice and other companies that provide similar services use posters in school hallways and classrooms to publicize their phone num ber to middle school and high school students.
Stickers are sent home with a letter to parents from the school superintendent, explaining the service and what it provides.
“It proves to be a real big deterrent,” Mr. Sullivan said. “Kids are just not willing to take the gamble anymore because they know they can be reported.”
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