After a generous show of community support at its meeting Tuesday, the Novato Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to implement an automated external defibrillator program at the district's two high school campuses. The life-saving devices are used in reviving people in sudden cardiac arrest.

Novato Fire Foundation offered to donate the devices, which range from $1,350 to $2,000 per unit, so they can be installed at San Marin High and Novato High as soon as possible. The Novato Fire District will train staff, provide medical oversight, track and replace the batteries and pads at no charge.

Cathy Rucker, who has led the effort for an AED program in the school district for five years, said she couldn't be happier Tuesday. Rucker became an emergency medical technician in tribute to her late husband, Novato firefighter Steven Rucker, who died battling a San Diego County fire in 2003.

As a member of the NUSD safety and emergency preparedness committee, Cathy Rucker was frustrated with the board's resistance to installing the devices at the high schools given the equipment's documented ability to save a life.

For every minute of cardiac arrest without medical attention, the victim's survival rate drops by 10 percent. Novato Fire District reports that it has an average emergency response time of 5 minutes, 45 second within city limits; an AED unit on-site can be applied in less than a minute.

Rucker said her daughter is going to high school next year, and that in a way her mission was personal.

"Novato was the first in the county to have a paramedic department," Rucker said. "We were a leader. Now we're last in the county to have an AED at our schools."

The board's indecision stemmed largely from the fear of potential lawsuits and liability. The board delayed a decision in October and awaited legal counsel and a detailed report from district staff on starting an AED program.

"The district is a large entity and we are elected to protect it," Board President Tom Cooper reminded audience members.

The school district must demonstrate that its AED equipment is up to code and functioning properly to be covered by the Good Samaritans Law, which protects  against liability for those who intervene in an emergency.

School district legal counsel Jan Tomsky emphasized before the board and in a staff report the need to develop a plan that details the district's training and monitoring procedures and staff and district responsibilities.

At the board meeting, Liz Lazar of the Via Foundation, an organization that specializes in getting AEDs into places that can't afford the devices, offered to donate a maintenance operation program to the school district. The foundation will help prepare the emergency response plan and policy procedures, give faculty demonstrations and a permanent electronic record updated monthly to show the district's compliance with legal requirements.

"The community needs it. I can't see how we can't put them in," Trustee Shelly Scott said before the board made its decision.

"We've supported AEDs in schools all along, and we're very glad that the trustees made the decision to place them in the high schools," said Novato Fire District Battalion Chief Ted Peterson.

Trustee Derek Knell thanked staff for its report and gave "one final thank you to the community, who brought this forward to make sure we do the right thing."