Bomb Resistant Doors, Windows Installed at Sequoyah County School

A Sequoyah County school district is having bomb resistant doors and windows installed as part of new security measures a month after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.

Jason Sparkman, the owner of Solar Eclipse Window Tinting in Fort Smith, began applying a bomb resistant film to every door and window at Liberty Public School in Liberty on Saturday. Students between kindergarten through 8th grade attend the school.

The school is located north of Roland.

Sparkman says the bomb resistant film makes the windows stronger, and can stop someone from getting through the door or window.

"If someone brings a sledge-hammer up here, or an ax, or they even try to burn the school, it's going to take the glass and make it that much stronger," Jason Sparkman said. "They can get through the glass, but the film is going to stay in the building. If a blast happens, [the film] will still stay in the frame."

George Lawson, who serves as the president of the school board and is also a member of the Fort Smith Police Department, said installing the bomb resistant film on the windows just made sense.

"Safety is our number one concern," George Lawson said. "Parents bring their kids and drop them off at school, thinking that they're going to be able to come back and pick them back up in the afternoon."

Lawson says Liberty School is going to do everything they can to make sure that children are safe while they're at school.

"We have to install obstacles so that we can enact the security measures we have in place should something like [a school shooting] happen at school," George Lawson said.

Liberty School administrators met with the school board and decided to install the bomb resistant film earlier this month on every door and window on the school's campus. Lawson says in addition, they're always brainstorming long-term strategies to improve safety and security for students and staff.

Sparkman said they're planning to test the effectiveness of the tinting in just a few weeks. They're planning to shoot windows with the tint applied with assault rifles, AK-47s, and even try to blow it up with a bomb to prove just how effective the material is.

Several law officers and school administrators will be attending the testing to see the effectiveness.

Solar Eclipse has the Oklahoma state contract for window tinting in all 77 counties.