Schools

Sunny Day! School Security?

On a beautiful sunny, spring day at Daniel Hand High School, the students proved that a secure building is only as secure as its least secure link. On this Wednesday afternoon, that weak link including an open window, and a side door left open by students, three times, after being closed repeatedly by school employees.

There were two police officers on campus, one in a meeting, according to school administrators, and one passing through in a patrol car. The officer who was in the meeting left a patrol car parked by the side door. The officer passing through in a patrol car did not pass by that particular side door.

The front door is equipped with a new security system, with a buzzer and intercom, part of a school system-wide upgrade that costs a total of  $46,000, for all of the schools, an upgrade that was implemented on an emergency basis following the December 2012 massacre of students and teachers at Sandy Hook. And, just around the corner from that secure front door at the high school were the open side window and the open side door.

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After school employees were informed about the open door just before 11 a.m., they closed it. A few minutes later, it was opened again by students, and it remained open, in part from what appeared to be a difference in air pressure between the inside of the school and the outside. In other words, the students were not propping the door open, they just were not checking to see if it was closing securely after they walked out. And, upon returning to the building, finding the door swaying in the breeze, they opted to enter the building that way rather than go around front.

A school employee closed it again. It was opened again, and left opened a third time until a school employee passing by was informed. He closed it. The third school employee said he would discuss the open door with school administrators to see if they could find a way to secure the door so that it did not provide unmonitored and unrestricted access to the building from the outside.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Madison School Superintendent Thomas Scarice was not immediately available for comment Wednesday. 

Here are is a link to information about school access and security from schoolsecurity.org.

 

 


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