Madison County Schools are focusing on improving security at all schools in the district.

WAAY 31 spoke with school security officials on what improvements they've made so far and what they plan to do for the upcoming school year.

Security officials say they will be adding bullet-proof windows, more security cameras and outdoor speaker systems to all 29 schools in the district.

"We're here to protect the kids, and protect the kids first. That's our number one priority. That's the way we're going to keep it at all times," said Kerry Wilkerson, Chief Operations Officer.

Wilkerson oversees many of the safety and security projects that are happening in Madison County Schools. He said one of the first projects is to implement something called total doors.

A total door is a two-layer door in the front office. It will allow key-card access for school personnel, and it can be locked down at any moment, so if there is a threat, it will be contained to one small area.

"If somebody gets past that first barrier, we want a second barrier before they can actually get to the kids," said Wilkerson.

Over the summer, they'll also be installing an outdoor speaker system at each school. This is to alert everyone if a threat happens on school property.

"If you're outside playing like those children from earlier, they'll have an area to go to and they'll hear it from the loud, outside speakers," he said.

Wilkerson said the new safety plan includes several new additions they'll be rolling out in the future.

"So, we've made a lot of improvements, and we're going to be finished with a majority of them this summer, but we have a lot more we want to keep doing years forward," he said.

Madison County Schools officials said, with the heightened fear surrounding school shootings, this is the time to really focus on safety.

The upgrades will be paid for using some of the $40 million in federal money the district received to help with its growing population.