CENTERVILLE — St. Mary Parish’s public school teachers will have access to a 911 dispatch literally at the touch of a button starting next school year.

The school system plans to implement COPsync, a computer software program that enables users to connect to 911 dispatch in the area, by next school year the board announced last week, according to St. Mary Parish School Superintendent Donald W. Aguillard. 

The program, which is projected to cost over $43,000, according to Aguillard, is just one of a few issues raised by the St. Mary Parish School Board.

“The board decided to go ahead and provide that extra level of security. It’s just another tool that we now have in the unforeseen instance that there might be a school shooter,” Aguillard said Wednesday. “The board also wants to get more security cameras on school buses as well as engage in canine services and have more searches on school campuses.”

The COPsync program will be installed on teacher’s computers and in case of an emergency a staff person can click the computer application and alert 911 dispatch in 15 seconds, Aguillard said.

Once the app is activated, the user has 15 seconds to confirm a threat or an automatic alert is sent to dispatch. Once the alert is sent a chat room opens for communication with law enforcement officers and dispatch.

“If they can, they can type a message on the alert app. If they can’t, the app knows the direct location on the triggered app so they can provide immediate attention and reduce the time it takes to respond significantly.”

Aguillard also said no specific event has contributed to the board’s decision to purchase the app, but said the app could “save countless lives with a reduced response time.”

The COPsync 911 program also will come with two cellphones that will receive an alert anytime the app is triggered. The principal of the school will be equipped with a cellphone as well as an additional copy at the district level of the school system.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said the program could help with the response time to a threat at the school.

“It’s going to be quicker than a cellphone call and essentially it’s going to make the process of us getting there more efficient,” Hebert said.

St. Mary Parish is just the second school system in Louisiana to implement the COPsync 911 program behind West Baton Rouge Parish.