Feb 16, 2026
LENOX — Based on a safety assessment commissioned by Superintendent William Collins, the public school district has been plugging some security gaps at Morris Elementary and at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School.
Most recently, a Highway Department crew led by DPW Superintendent William Gop installed security bollards at the main entrance of both schools.
The installation, costing $3,428, was funded by a state grant secured by Lenox Police Officer William Colvin, the department’s school resource officer, and by Gop. Colvin was involved in the ongoing comprehensive assessment of safety vulnerabilities at the two school buildings requested by Collins in July 2023.
Bollards are sturdy, short posts used as physical barriers designed to prevent a vehicle from smashing through entrances, either accidentally or deliberately. They serve as as both deterrents and defenses against accidental or intentional collisions with buildings, pedestrians, or equipment.
Each safety bulwark is a 3,000-pound cement physical barrier aimed at securing entryways to prevent access to the school buildings.
They were among high-priority security upgrades recommended by Police Chief Stephen O’Brien and Fire Chief Chris O’Brien, both now retired, as well as the Massachusetts Association of Police Chiefs.
“The bollards help protect students and staff from a vehicle, whether it be something malicious or somebody who pulled in and had a medical emergency or hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, careening into people,” said Colvin, one of the police force’s longest-serving officers.
More bollards and safety poles are expected to be ordered through additional grants, he said. Also under consideration is funding for a second set of secured locked doors at each school, so-called “man traps,” that would require buzzed-in access approval from the building’s office.
“We’ve reinforced entryways to windows, added additional outdoor surveillance cameras, installed a vehicle gate at the Morris School playground, and increased the frequency and variety of our emergency preparedness drills, among other things,” Collins told The Eagle. Also, the two-way radios at both schools were updated.