CITY OF NEWBURGH — The Newburgh school district will have a public hearing Tuesday on a district-wide safety plan for the upcoming school year that will begin Sept. 4.

The hearing will take place at 5:45 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room in the Newburgh Free Library before the board's regular meeting at 6. The library is located at 124 Grand St. in the City of Newburgh.

Contrary to recent reports, the district is not considering using bullet-proof doors in some classrooms. A district official said Monday one bullet-proof door was installed to test the product at a location that was undisclosed for safety reasons, but there are not current plans to add more of the reinforced doors.

Most changes for the 2019-20 school year safety plans are minor.

The list includes:

• using National Incident Management Systems Language

• descriptions of duties for school monitors and a Community Resource Officer

• formally adding the use of metal detectors, video surveillance and visitor screening to security implementation

• including bus accident procedures in the district's Emergency Response Protocols

The district was already working with city police for an on-hand Community Resource Officer, but the new safety plan explicitly states this under its implementation rules.

Earlier this year, the district had discussed several new safety measures included in the 2019-20 budget in response to nationwide incidents of violence and mass-shootings directed at schools.

At meetings in March and April, the school board discussed at-length the possibility of hiring a contingent of School Resource Officers, but it ultimately decided not to. Instead, the board allocated money toward preventive measures, such as hiring more security monitors. The district also hired more social workers and counselors who can talk with students about mental and emotional challenges they may be dealing with.

lbellamy@th-record.com