Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Sheriff's Deputy Ron Breuss, school resource officer, distributed cell phones throughout Saratoga schools as part of a program to improve communications during emergencies.
Pacific Bell donates cell phones to schools
Quick response is the aim of the program
By Leigh Ann Maze
In some cases cellular phones can be an annoyance in the classroom, but when it comes to an emergency, more is better. Thanks to Pacific Bell and Gov. Gray Davis, school resource officer Ron Breuss of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Westside Substation, recently distributed 40 cellular phones throughout Saratoga public schools.
The phones are capable of only two preprogrammed functions and cannot receive incoming calls. The first function dials 911, which connects to the California Highway Patrol dispatch center. The second function dials directly to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office dispatch center, called county communications. "It eliminates several links in a chain," Breuss said. "It's a direct line of communication that bypasses any opportunity for confusion."
Eleven days after the tragic Columbine High School shooting, AirTouch Cellular and Gov. Davis announced the donation of 10,000 cellular phones to California public schools. Gov. Davis called on other wireless communication companies to follow AirTouch's lead. In Dec. 1999, Pacific Bell announced its School Access for Emergencies (SAFE) program, donating 10,000 free cellular phones and free phone service to 550 high schools in Northern California, from Napa to Monterey Counties.
While the program's primary focus is to provide emergency phones to high schools, each community may distribute the phones to middle and elementary schools, as needed. Capt. Michael Callagy of the San Mateo Police Department coordinated the distribution of the phones. "They can be used for a variety of purposes, such as medical emergencies on a field trip, at a sporting event, or inside or outside the school building," Callagy said.
Breuss and Deputy Robert Gallardo returned with 40 phones from a Jan. 10 training meeting with Callagy. Breuss began distributing them in February and gave out the last phones on March 8. Saratoga and Prospect High Schools each received 10 phones, five were given to Redwood Middle School, and each public elementary school in Saratoga received at least one phone. Prospect High School has already used their phones several times, according to Breuss.
At all Saratoga schools, many teachers and administrators already carry personal cellular phones with them. The SUSD has an intercom system between classrooms and the office, as well as a radio system.
Both Redwood Middle School and Saratoga High School already have telephone lines in every classroom that can dial outside the school, if there is an emergency. The classroom phones at SHS were installed in Dec. 1999, according to principal Kevin Skelly. "I think we have the phone situation in a good place right now," Skelly said.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
