Security for Tacoma's new 100-year old high school mirrors district-wide plan.

THE TACOMA SCHOOL District is in the midst of a multi-year plan to renovate or replace most of its facilities to meet current and future educational needs. Many of the buildings are 50 to 60-years old. Part of the upgrade includes a focused approach to access control and related door hardware. One significant improvement is a new district-wide key system that provides better key control, reduces the number of different keys in circulation, and accommodates varying levels of security to meet specific needs. Standardized door hardware components, such as exit devices and door closers, have been chosen to deliver longer service life, require less maintenance and reduce spare parts inventories.

Selecting the access control hardware for Tacoma's Stadium High School was part of the plan but posed extra challenges because the main building is a 100-year old structure, known locally as the "Castle." Maintaining the building's historical appearance while bringing it up to modern security and hardware standards was just one of the challenges encountered in totally rebuilding and upgrading the school as part of the district-wide initiative.

According to Sam Bell, Executive Director-Support Services, the Tacoma School District includes 37 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, five comprehensive high schools and three alternative or special-focus high schools. Together, they total approximately five million square feet. Bell states that a $450 million bond issue on February, 2001 was designated for a major remodeling and rebuilding program, with almost $300 million allocated toward the five comprehensive high schools.

One of the objectives was to upgrade the schools' access control and related door hardware systems. Over the years, key requirements in the district had outgrown the existing mechanical key system. Because it was not patent-protected, key blanks were easy to obtain and had the potential for unauthorized duplication. Expanding and changing needs created a huge number of key possibilities and made key control difficult.

Various types of door hardware had proliferated, with a variety of exit devices and door closers being installed on different buildings. In many cases, the hardware met only minimum standards and required frequent adjustment or repair.

Setting District Standards

Even before the current rebuilding and renovation program, the district had been moving toward standardization for its access control and door hardware, to achieve better durability with less maintenance. One of the most complex areas was the key system, but the Schlage system now being implemented simplified the task. It is based on using two related key ways that provide different levels of security but can use the same key blanks. This provides the higher security of a patent-protected key way on exterior doors and in sensitive areas such as computer laboratories or records offices without the cost of high security locks in standard applications, such as classroom doors.

Improved key control began with the move to a Great Grand Master (GGM) system that was designed to fulfill current and future keying needs throughout the district. Maintenance Supervisor-Building & Grounds Margaret Ohlson explains, "Rather than going to Schlage for each school separately, we outlined our vision for the whole district. That solved a lot of problems like eliminating ghost keying and including enough capability for future expansion."

The key system has two components that enable it to accommodate different security levels. For exterior doors and some higher security applications, the district uses Schlage Everest Primus Level 9 cylinders. They require patent-protected and restricted key blanks that can only be obtained from the manufacturer, which prevents unauthorized duplication. For most interior doors, they use Schlage Everest D Family Restricted Series keying, which also is patent-protected. Because an Everest Primus key can also be used to operate a standard Everest cylinder, this is a cost-effective solution. The district pays for the higher security locks only where needed and avoids the complexities of having two different types of keys.

Patent protected keying gives the district the peace of mind that comes with higher security. Ohlson explains, "We had problems with some teachers letting students use their keys to get things from their office and not getting them back. They would lose keys, and people would make copies, so we didn't have the control we needed. Now, our maintenance department handles everything, and nobody can have a key made outside."

Previously, if the fire or police department came to a school, the custodian needed to come out with a huge ring of keys and unlock the doors. Stadium High School alone had about 20 rings of keys, and now only one key is needed for the entire system.

Another benefit of simplifying the key system is that emergency lockdowns are much easier. Schools in the district practice lockdowns once a month, the same as fire drills, and the system allows each teacher to start locking corridor doors at once. Before the upgrade, it was difficult for one custodian to get around and lock all the doors quickly.

To manage key distribution and maintain control over keys, Ingersoll Rand's Site Master software is used. The district had been using an earlier Site Master program and recently upgraded to the latest version. Nancy Sherwood, Maintenance Support Specialist, maintains the program and is the liaison with the schools for keys and keying problems, She says, "With the new program, we can keep track of all the keys and everybody that has them."

Other hardware incorporated in the district's standards includes Von Duprin 98 Series exit devices, LCN 4011 and 4111 Series door closers, and Schlage L9000 Series mortise locks, which are equipped with breakaway lever trim that gives way under excessive force to prevent damage but is easily reset. In addition, the district uses Glynn-Johnson automatic flush bolts and coordinators for pairs of fire doors, as well as Glynn-Johnson overhead stops and holders. It is also considering Steelcraft Graintech doors with INPact recessed exit devices for corridor doors that will be used to section off areas within some schools.

Among the benefits of standardization is the manufacturer's commitment to providing training in areas that include installation, adjustment and maintenance of hardware and using the Site Master program. Inspection and assistance with specific applications also proves valuable when questions develop in the field. As with most school maintenance departments, there is always more to do than the manpower and time available allow. Ohlson says the company's support helps and also notes, "It's not just the support but the longevity of the products themselves. Because they are maintenance-free, our maintenance people don't have to go out and work on them all the time."

Applications at Stadium High School

Stadium High School is actually a brand-new school in a hundred-year-old building. The school, which takes its name from the adjacent bowl-type stadium, began life in 1891 as a railroad hotel. It was constructed by the Northern Pacific Railway to meet expected demand in the Tacoma area, which was growing faster than Seattle at the time. As economic conditions changed, the railroad abandoned the partially completed building. It was used to store lumber for a time, and in 1898, it was damaged by fire. In 1906, the community decided to convert it to a high school, and it served this purpose for many years. A few years ago, as its condition had deteriorated, the school was targeted for early rebuilding as part of the district-wide initiative.

During construction, the school was closed for two years, and students were sent to the former Mount Tahoma High School site. The "new" school opened with the Fall semester in September, 2006. Overall, the Stadium High School includes more than 275,000 square feet on its 9.8 acre site. In addition to completely renovating the original "Castle," the district replaced a vocational education building that was built in 1968 with a new 82,000 sq. ft. performing arts center that includes a 456-seat auditorium, an expanded main and auxiliary gymnasium facility, and spaces for music, drafting, dancing and shop classes. Because of the school's downtown Tacoma location, parking had been a problem, so a two-level parking garage also was added and capped with four roof-top tennis courts.

The original "Castle" was upgraded to comply with contemporary mechanical, electrical and ADA requirements. Among the modern amenities now included are sophisticated "smart board" technology, new audio/visual equipment, HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems. The building also was re-roofed and is fully sprinklered. As with all district schools, the project also included full seismic upgrades for earthquake mitigation.

Throughout the project, the district was sensitive to preserving the historical elements of the original building and even created a separate Historical Advisory Committee headed by an architectural conservator to ensure that the historical elements were preserved. Principal Jonathan Kellett explains," A lot of the architectural features were lost in the fire many years ago, but we retained the ornamentation that was there. We even replaced some wooden beams with steel and used the wood for countertops and window seat ledges." He adds that the architects were able to blend new design elements with the old structure so it is difficult to distinguish the old from the new.

Progress in the Tacoma School District