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Published on 07/21/1997 All articles from this issue

Schools beef up security after computer thefts

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Both school districts in Los Altos are improving campus security in response to the high incidence of technology burglaries that have occurred at school facilities in the past few months.

The Los Altos School District upgraded several school buildings with motion detectors and break-in sensors after the district office on Covington Road was burglarized July 9. The previous alarm systems had not been upgraded for about 15 years, said Randy Kenyon, assistant superintendent of business services.

The district is also working with the Los Altos Police department to deter burglars from the schools, he said. The district has added more lighting, installed locks on school gates and created barriers to prevent anyone from being able to drive through the schools' corridors. He said the police have been patrolling school campuses more often.

"The next time someone tries to break in, we're going to be there to nab them," he said. "It will be extremely difficult for someone to get in without getting detected."

The Mountain View/Los Altos High School District met with the Mountain View Police Department last week to develop a security plan for this fall, said Bob Golton, assistant superintendent of business services for the high school district.

He said the district is formulating a plan to "harden up" its facilities for the coming year with state-of-the-art security systems and increased security patrol.

Kenyon said campuses have been targets of periodic vandalism and graffiti from kids, but school break-ins were not an issue until last year when more computers were added to offices and classrooms. He said typically single classrooms have been tapped during each incident.

Computers attract burglars because they are easy to chop up and market, Golton said.

"I think people have come to realize schools have the technology, but don't have the same kind of money to spend as the Fortune 500 on protecting their property."