Lake County approves funds for security software
TAVARES, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Lake County School Board on Tuesday dug further into the budget for school safety, approving the Social Sentinel software.
It’s a service that surfs social media platforms looking for keywords, like bomb or gun, in hopes of stopping a school attack before it happens.
“It’ll scan social media outlets, and it’ll give us an opportunity to really have a proactive approach to any threats we may have,” says Safety & Security Specialist for Lake County Schools, Jimmer Roy.
Roy says taxpayer money is being used to fund the software.
“It’s $70,000 for the district. The money is coming out of our safety & security services budget.”
With 17 people killed at Douglas Stoneman High in Parkland earlier this year, school districts across the state are on high alert.
“We’ve seen that this exact program has saved lives from other people who have invested into it and the question is always going to be, is a life worth saving? The benefit is that we have the opportunity to be able to possibly save live,” Roy tells the News Station.
For those who might not like the amount of money the district is paying for the software, the big question is: how do you put a price on a life? As a parent himself, with two kids in Lake County schools,
Roy says this is just another tool in the district’s security arsenal. The board unanimously passed the measure in a 5-0 vote Monday night.