With the start of a new school year, security is priority number one, according to a new survey from Qualtrics.
Hiring more security guards was top-of-mind for parents questioned in the survey. In second place, parents wanted more safety training for students. Both of the responses were ranked as more important than COVID-19 protocols, which led the poll last year.
Before teachers even started setting up their classrooms at Tar River Elementary in Granville County, the school system put safety in the forefront.
"We know that safety is our top priority, but it’s everyone’s job," Dr. Alisa McLean, Superintendent of Granville County, told a crowd during a recent safety summit. School, government, law enforcement and parents all took part to discuss the upcoming year.
Whether it’s the size of the school system or the amount of local funding, WRAL Investigates found levels of school security vary greatly in central North Carolina.
"I think in terms of physical security we have a lot of older buildings," Granville County Associate Superintendent Dr. Stan Winborne said.
Between Granville County’s 17 public schools, 6,600 students and 900 staff members, funding can be a obstacle. Still, added money from county commissioners and state grants targeted security.
"Every one of our schools has a full video surveillance system indoors and out," said Winborne.
The cameras record and can be accessed on school administrator cell phones. Elementary schools also installed fences for an extra safety barrier. Additionally, there’s preparation and coordination with law enforcement.
"At the beginning of every school year, we have trainings for our teachers and our administrators," said Winborne. "And of course we have regular drills."
The heightened safety concerns, even in smaller school districts, are reinforced, unfortunately, by school shootings that lead to loss of life and innocence across the country.
"It can happen anywhere," Winborne admits. "No one is immune to violence in schools. We take that very seriously."
In Granville County, that means threats, even those that turn out to be bogus, draw immediate attention and resources.
"Each and every threat against our schools we take 100% seriously," said Winborne. "There may have been a day where folks were given a slap on the wrist for that type of thing, but issuing these threats in today’s times, we take it very very seriously, there’s zero tolerance."
At a time of deep division in many school systems over book content and history teaching, Winborne believes the topic of school security brings the community together.
"Our children are our most precious gift and there’s nothing more important than keeping them safe," said Winborne.
Safety measures by school district
WRAL Investigates asked several basic security-related questions of local school systems parents wanted to know the answers to.
Due to a recent change in state law, which requires schools to submit security information to a statewide database that’s not public record, many school systems declined to answer. Here are the questions WRAL Investigates asked more than a month ago:
- What is the school system’s door-locking policy?
- Are all exterior doors locked during school hours?
- Do your schools have a single point of entry during school hours?
- Are teachers required to lock doors during instruction, and if so, has that policy been revised due to COVID-19/ventilation issues?
- Are all schools equipped with technology to immediately lock all doors in case of an emergency?
- Has your security budget increased the past couple of years, and if so, what security improvements have or will be made in the future?
Here are the answers from the school districts that responded. Those that did not respond were sent multiple requests for answers:
Exterior doors are controlled by centralized access control and are locked except when public events are scheduled at a school site. Interior door-locking policy is a school based decision at this point in time.
Our current school layouts prevent us from creating a single point of entry during school hours without a massive increase in funding or even greater funding to build new schools to replace older facilities that were built when access control to schools was not the same level of concern.
Interior door-locking policy is a school-based decision at this point in time.
Our current school door hardware prevents us from locking all doors in the case of emergency without a massive increase in funding or even greater funding to build new schools to replace older facilities that were built when access control to schools was not the same level of concern.
Clinton City Schools applied for and recently received a COPS SVPP grant to replace all security cameras and upgrade and integrate our access control system with the security camera system. The installation of security cameras is nearing completion, but work on the access control segment has not yet started due to supply chain issues.
Clinton City Schools hopes to leverage new school security improvements using funding avenues included in the most recent NC budget. We hope to add an additional SRO to serve our K-5 schools and pursue other security improvements that are allowable by the level of funding available.
Through staff training, building improvements, and partnerships with law enforcement, Durham Public Schools prioritizes the safety and security of our students and staff. To support our efforts, we keep details of our security procedures and practices confidential.
All exterior doors are locked and schools have a single point of entry. Policy is to keep doors closed and locked, but that was not always possible due to Covid in some older buildings due to poor ventilation. The county’s newest school is 15 years old. While added technology is a funding issue, the system has added additional security via perimeter fencing at county schools.
Johnston County Public Schools places student and staff safety as our number one priority. While we will never share our "playbook" when it comes to school safety, I can share that we have several measures in place to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.
We have a dedicated team of individuals who constantly review and improve on our safety protocols and operations. We hold regular meetings with our administrators to make sure all of our team members are prepared in the event of an emergency situation.
All of our schools have security vestibules where guests to our campus must be buzzed in, and our schools have fob access points for staff and students where applicable.
Student safety is our highest priority, and we take school security very seriously. Consistent with that, we do not feel comfortable disclosing specifics of our security practices, which could create a risk to our students and staff. We have received additional funding in recent years related to school security, and we have made and continue to make security enhancements to our buildings and grounds, including a current project to build new security entrances at middle and high schools. We also have allocated funds to ensure that we have School Resource Officers in all our schools.
What is the school system’s door-locking policy? That all exterior or interior doors shall be locked.
Are all exterior doors locked during school hours? Yes
Do your schools have a single point of entry during school hours? Our schools have a main office that is the single point of entry for any visitors to our campuses.
Are teachers required to lock doors during instruction and if so, has that policy been revised due to Covid/ventilation issues? Yes and No.
Are all schools equipped with technology to immediately lock all doors in case of an emergency? No.
Has your security budget increased the past couple of years and if so, what security improvements have or will be made in the future? We applied for and received several U.S. Department of Justice COPS School Violence Prevention Program grants that have been used to enhance school safety systems such as upgrading security cameras and supporting our Active Defender campus safety app.
What is the school system’s door-locking policy? All exterior doors are on an access control system. All interior classroom doors have interior locks with barricade devices in case of an emergency.
Are all exterior doors locked during school hours? Yes.
Do your schools have a single point of entry during school hours? All school visitors have to enter through the main entrance of the school through our access control system.
Are teachers required to lock doors during instruction, and if so, has that policy been revised due to COVID-19/ventilation issues? Classroom doors are required to be locked but not closed.
Are all schools equipped with technology to immediately lock all doors in case of an emergency? All schools have a panic device in the office area in case of emergency that will lock all exterior doors and call 911 at the same time.
Has your security budget increased the past couple of years, and if so, what security improvements have or will be made in the future? We have been given a couple of grants and most of that funding has been used for camera upgrades on all campuses.
What is the school system’s door-locking policy? In Northampton County all of our schools have RFID pads for employees as well as camera-monitored buzzers where visitors must present their identification before admission into our schools.
Are all exterior doors locked during school hours? Yes, all building Principals have been instructed to keep the exterior doors locked during school hours.
Do your schools have a single point of entry during school hours? Yes, we do our best to make sure the public are guided to our identification system in the front of our schools.
Are teachers required to lock doors during instruction and if so, has that policy been revised due to Covid/ventilation issues? No, teachers have not been instructed to lock classroom doors during instruction.
Are all schools equipped with technology to immediately lock all doors in case of an emergency? No, some doors still require manual locking however, during a fire or fire drill magnetic doors are released and lock automatically.
Has your security budget increased the past couple of years and if so, what security improvements have or will be made in the future? We can’t say the security budget itself has been increased; however, we have made improvements to our campuses as a result of school-related events and we remain committed to the safety of our students and staff at all times.
What is the school system’s door-locking policy? All doors are locked during the school day and we have a camera system to buzz people in.
Are all exterior doors locked during school hours? Yes.
Do your schools have a single point of entry during school hours? Yes.
Are teachers required to lock doors during instruction and if so, has that policy been revised due to Covid/ventilation issues? Yes.
Are all schools equipped with technology to immediately lock all doors in case of an emergency? No.
Has your security budget increased the past couple of years and if so, what security improvements have or will be made in the future? No, however we have SRO’s in our high schools and middle schools and one for our elementary schools. We are looking into safety grants to have SRO’s in all of our elementary schools.
Roanoke Rapids Graded School District is committed to ensuring safety for all students and staff. In addition to designating specific points of entry, exterior doors are locked during school hours, and teachers are encouraged to lock their classrooms during instruction. Our security budget increased last school year due to receiving a grant, and this funding was used to upgrade one campus with a more secure entryway.
Although our funding hasn’t increased specifically for security, administrators have re-allocated other funding for security updates and improvements over the last few years such as: controlled access points, additional cameras, other improved more secure entryways, and re-keyed the entire district to ensure tight control on building access. This school year we plan to add more controlled access doors and a more secure entryway at another one of our campuses. Our goal is to have these secure, technology-controlled entryways at all campuses within the next two school years.
Per state law, most of this information isn’t public record. Disclosing the information would risk the safety of our students and staff.
I can share that funding was provided in the last bond to make security enhancements to our facilities, including cameras, badge access points, and adding vestibules.
School Risk Management Plans, which include safety procedures such as what you are asking about, are not subject to public inspection in accordance with NCGS 115C-47.40. Additionally, schematic information pertaining to points of entry and emergency access to school buildings are not considered public record in accordance with 115C-105.53. It is worth noting that WCPS School Risk Management Plans are developed in collaboration with law enforcement and are regularly revisited. Schematics and/or information about emergency access to school buildings have also been shared with law enforcement as part of our collaborative efforts to help protect students and staff on our campuses.
Are all schools equipped with technology to immediately lock all doors in case of an emergency? Not at this time, though every WCPS school has lockdown procedures in place for emergencies and conducts lockdown drills twice annually.
Has your security budget increased the past couple of years and if so, what security improvements have or will be made in the future? In recent years, WCPS has received a number of grants to help increase SROs, add metal detectors, and update camera systems. The County of Wayne and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office have also helped increase SROs and law enforcement visibility on our campuses. WCPS has publicly shared that it has utilized funding to add buzz-in systems at main entrances and make other improvements as possible. WCPS has also shared that its newest school designs include enhanced safety features.
Per state law, most of the information you requested isn’t public record. Disclosing the information would risk the safety of our students and staff.
I can share that in the past few years, Wilson County Schools has received grant funds for security enhancements to our facilities. We have upgraded camera systems, increased the number of SROs, purchased the Ident-A-Kid sign-in system and are providing Critical Incident Training in our schools. We are also in the process of securing bids to add vestibules to the entrances of several schools.
