Canberra principals have said there has been no heightened safety concerns as the first funding for an ACT school under the new federal schools security program was confirmed this week.
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A Canberra Grammar School spokesman said the funding – flagged earlier this month as part of the $18 million available over three years under the program – would go towards installing CCTV cameras at the large Red Hill campus, but was not in response to any specific threats.
"There's no heightened risk or event that encouraged us to make the funding application," he said.
A spokesman for Justice Minister Michael Keenan confirmed Canberra Grammar was the only ACT school to apply for the funding, which is designed for schools "at risk of attack, harassment or violence stemming from racial or religious intolerance".
Association of Independent Schools of the ACT executive director Andrew Wrigley said school safety was always on the agenda but there had been no extra concern about security among principals, with the program not the first of its kind.
"It hasn't been raised with me more," he said.
"There was a program prior to that which I'd give the euphemism the 'school fence project' – a number of ACT schools were able to put fencing around their schools with it."
ACT Principals Association co-president Michael Hall said vandalism was the greater practical issue but even that was rare, given the large fences around schools.
Three schools, including CGS, were ordered into lockdown in March 2014 by ACT Policing, who had received a report of a man with a firearm in the vicinity.
The call was later found to be a hoax.
"Using the CCTV as an example to relay the information that there wasn't anyone actually on campus would have assisted the campus," the school spokesman said.
An ACT Education and Training Directorate spokeswoman said its budget for security related tasks – including money for monitoring of the electronic security systems at all public schools after school hours – was $540,000 this year and the figure had been "relatively stable" during the past three years.
"The budget covers a range of costs, including monitoring and maintaining public school security systems and additional school holiday patrol programs," the spokeswoman said.
The school spokesman would not disclose the amount requested, with Mr Keenan's spokeswoman saying the Attorney-General's department was now negotiating funding agreements with the 54 successful schools. ·
