Raul Quintanilla, Sr., Middle School, in the Dallas Independent School District (ISD), has been selected as the winner of ASIS International’s School Security Funding Competition. As the winner, it will receive $20,000 for security improvements.

Quintanilla Middle School has a student body of 860 seventh- and eighth-grade students. It is one of 37 middle schools in the Dallas ISD, the 14th largest school district in the nation. Proposed improvements include adding security cameras and software, new outdoor lighting, two-way radios for campus communications and repairs to perimeter fencing.

“We are excited and proud to be the winners of the ASIS 2010 School Security Funding Competition,” said Quintanilla Middle School Principal Luis Valdez. “With this money, we will make our school a safer learning environment for everyone and cannot wait to have the security systems installed. Our school community is very appreciative.”

The ASIS School Security Funding Competition asked Dallas ISD schools to consider, through a series of short essays, their particular security concerns and how those concerns might impact their students, teachers, and administrators. They were asked to describe security risks they would attempt to reduce or eliminate and to list specific security enhancements they would purchase with the funding. A committee composed of members of the Dallas ISD police and security team, along with security management professionals from the North Texas Chapter, judged the submissions.

“This is the seventh year that ASIS has sponsored this competition as a way of giving back to the community where our annual event is held,” says ASIS Chief Executive Officer Michael Stack. “The aim of the competition is to encourage local schools to assess the security issues that confront their buildings, staff, and students every day.”

ASIS will recognize Quintanilla Middle School and Principal Val­dez at a special awards luncheon on October 15 at the Dallas Convention Center as part of the Society’s 56th Annual Seminar and Exhibits.