Peralta approves $220k in security upgrades after killing of John Beam

OAKLAND Peralta Population College District leaders on Monday approved hundreds of thousands of dollars to fast-track assurance upgrades for the Laney College Field House less than two weeks after Athletic Director John Beam was gunned down in the facility At a special meeting Peralta s Board of Trustees unanimously green-lit an urgency resolution for up to in new safety measures at the building Exactly what those safeguard upgrades could entail remained unclear Monday the measure only called for new or improved protection fencing lighting measure cameras doors and gates urgency phones an access control system and other ancillary work The crisis measure allows Peralta s leaders to sign a contract for the work without first undergoing a competitive bidding process The Field House which houses administrative offices as well as training areas and space for the college s fitness classes is expected to remain closed for the final weeks of the fall semester and until the spring semester begins on Jan according to the resolution Laney is one of four colleges within the district A sign outside the Field House on Monday directed students to another building on campus for fitness classes and other athletics matters A memorial to Beam still rests outside the Field House following the Nov shooting which shook the college and made national headlines after Beam the college s longtime football coach rose to national fame when his organization was featured on the Netflix show Last Chance U in Leadership suspect Beam was shot in the head by former Skyline High School and Laney College aspirant Cedric Irving Jr who has since been charged with murder in the killing and is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail Irving confessed to the killing in a subsequent interview with investigators court records show and multiple sources say he accused the coach of putting witchcraft on him Irving has yet to enter a plea A Peralta spokesman Mark Johnson did not respond by deadline to several questions after the meeting including which company would be contracted for the work when the contract was expected to be finalized or what specifically would be upgraded at the facility The work comes as faculty at the college have raised alarms about safety at the Field House Beam appeared to harbor his own concerns in the lead-up to the shooting A day before the deadly encounter Beam spoke up at a staff meeting about safety on the campus and suggested authorities bring back armed safeguard guards He also expressed skepticism about a up-to-date proposal for six guards to carry firearms questioning whether it went far enough and telling Peralta leaders that six guards four campuses hours how does that work After the shooting multiple staff members have since raised their concerns directly with Peralta s Board of Trustees At a meeting on Nov the defensive coordinator for the Laney College Eagles football gang urged the board to act fleetly so that we can get back to this space that is so vital to this campus and the Oakland region We can t return to the Field House without improved safety reported the coordinator Robert Crowley He specifically called for more dedicated and trained staff members committed to this area viewing it as the start to a long-term key The resolution Monday made no mention of personnel changes at the Field House Peralta has cycled through a host of safety providers in latest years after the Board of Trustees in nixed a longtime contract with the Alameda County Sheriff s Office amid political unrest around the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer The colleges swiftly awarded a contract at the time to Marina Shield Services a local firm whose owner Sam Tadesse is a prolific donor to East Bay political campaigns In a highly contentious decision the board moved on from Marina in June voting to split its million contract between the two firms that had scored highest in the bidding process Diligence Protection Group and Aventus Safety The deliberations turned tense amid accusations in June by Trustee Nicky Gonzalez-Yuen of a rushed and sloppy process On Monday Jeff Sanceri president of the Peralta Board Federation of Teachers spoke up at the board s meeting about a need for improved safety at Peralta Moments before the board s vote he noted that addressing safety and other issues in the Field House will go a techniques towards restoring a few sense of prevention Knowing that things can definitely move this fast is helpful he added Jakob Rodgers is a senior urgent news reporter Call text or send him an encrypted message via Signal at - - or email him at jrodgers bayareanewsgroup com