Many Oxford students walked through a safer, more secure school building at the start of this year after officials spent more than $85,000 in district-wide safety updates throughout the summer.

Oxford Schools Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sam Barna discussed these projects during a presentation to the board of education at its Aug. 22 meeting.

“The overall goal of these projects is just having a safe and secure environment to educate our children (in). Our primary focus is creating a safe and secure learning environment for our kids, but it’s also, in the broader scheme, about (providing a safe environment) for our community, since the community uses our facilities as well,” Barna told this reporter in a later interview.

Interior doors throughout the district are now equipped to keep dangerous intruders out, in case of an emergency, after Nightlock door barricades were installed throughout the district for just over $50,000.

According to Barna, a “blind spot” in the main entryway at Daniel Axford Elementary, which was identified by district officials last year, has now been secured with the installation of a security camera and door monitoring system.

“A camera and buzzer system will allow the front desk secretary to monitor visitors prior to entry into the school’s front entrance, which previously did not have such a system,” Barna added.

School playgrounds with engineered wood mulch ground cover were replenished to prevent injury to elementary-schoolers, in case of trips and falls.

Parking lot manholes which had been in the Oxford High School and Leonard Elementary parking lots were repaired for safety purposes, according to Barna. “Those manholes were becoming very dangerous,” he added.

Asphalt found in the main entryway to Clear Lake Elementary was also milled to eliminate previously existing trip hazards.

Other projects completed include the inspection and recertification of fire extinguishers, fire alarms and sprinkler systems.

The purchases were made through the district’s general fund budget.