District hires private security to prevent end-of-the-year pranks at Franklin High School
FRANKLIN June 6 2017 – In an attempt to prevent any end-of-the-year issues like senior pranks, Franklin High School will have a private security company patrolling the grounds at night through the last day of school.
According to a Franklin police report, the patrols started May 28 and will continue until Monday, June 12.
These patrols are not anything new, though, according to Jim Milzer, the district’s director of business services.
“We’ve done it for over 20 years,” Milzer said. “Just at this time of the year. It’s really to make sure that we don’t have any kind of end-of-the-year pranks that happen on the school property.”
The district spends a few thousand dollars total each year for these weeks of extra security, Milzer estimated.
This year, the district hired Per Mar Security to keep an eye on the school. The company will have someone patrolling the property from 11 p.m., when all staff have left the building, until 6 a.m., when staff begin arriving.
When asked if the school could simply request the police department to watch the area more closely, Milzer said, “We could, but they can’t be over there constantly, and something can happen pretty quickly.”
The private security has been able to stop students sneaking onto the grounds and call the police, greatly reducing the number of potential pranks that may have been pulled.
Upon consulting with staff at the high school, Milzer said there had been one incident where students were able to sneak farm animals into the courtyard.
However, in terms of major pranks, this was the only one that came to mind.
“It works well for us,” Milzer said. “And it helps us end the year on a positive note.”
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