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Hopwood to beef up security soon
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Posted on Jul 06 2005
Hopwood Junior High School doesn’t want a repeat of a break-in incident a few weeks ago and is close to getting security personnel to guard the entire school.
Public School System associate commissioner for administrative services David M. Borja said yesterday he had just approved a public notice inviting bidders for security services at Hopwood.
Borja said it would take 30 days to gather interested bidders and another 30 days for short listing and selection.
Right now, said Borja, the school has hired a security guard to man the school from afternoon until the next morning, but the person will work only for a month—for possible renewal until the bidding process ends.
He said he was saddened by the break-in at Hopwood. “It’s really terrible,” he said. PSS hired another contractor to do the services needed, but for a month-long contract only. Borja said they are now lobbying that the hiring of security personnel be an annual process.
Three computer laptops and a digital camera were stolen when several Hopwood rooms were forced open during the weekend of June 13. The still unidentified suspects even found time to cook food in one of the rooms. The burglarized rooms included the old and new library, cafeteria, the computer laboratory, the Lina’la Malawasch Academy room, and the special education room.
Borja admitted that prior to the burglary last month at Hopwood, PSS was in the process of awarding the bidding to a security firm but the company failed to submit and fulfill some requirements. He said PSS had decided that it was better to re-bid the contract because there were so many bidders.
The Department of Public Safety is still investigating the burglary.
