The Polk County Board of Commissioners added up costs to better secure the county’s schools following recommendations from a school security task force that total $339,999.

The suggestions include hiring two school resource officers, installing cameras, panic alarms and common key systems, as well as costs for monitoring. With grants totaling $35,000, the county is looking at a cost of $304,999 to implement all the new security recommendations for all six of its schools.

Commissioners met Monday, Dec. 2 and heard from interim county manager Marche Pittman who detailed the costs of the recommendations.

Polk County appointed a school security task force following the Dec. 14, 2012 school shooting in Sandy Hook, Conn. The task force, made up of local law enforcement, school and county officials, toured the schools and made recommendations to commissioners last month.

Adding two school resource officers, one for Polk County Middle School and one floating officer for the elementary schools, and adding panic alarms and cameras at all schools’ primary access points topped the task force’s recommendations.

Pittman said adding two resource officers will cost $85,109, with the school system already being approved for a $28,000 grant. The school system has not yet accepted the funding but has received word it was approved. The school resource officer expense would be a recurring expense every year.

Panic alarms at each school are estimated at $14,000, with the school system already applying for a $7,000 grant to pay half of the costs.

Cameras at the primary access points at each school will be the largest expense, estimated at $163,890 total.

Pittman said cameras for Polk County High School will cost $23,681; Polk Middle $20,278; Polk Central $37,014; Tryon $28,923; Sunny View $26,917 and Saluda $27,078. Monitoring the cameras centrally at the Polk County Communications Office will cost $10,000, Pittman said. Expanding the school system’s common key system will cost $60,000 and network and fiber is estimated at $7,000.

Commissioners decided for Pittman and Polk County Schools Superintendent Bill Miller to work together to prioritize the list before further discussion at the county’s Jan. 6 meeting. Commissioners said they would like to implement some items during next year’s budget, which begins July 1, 2014.