GREENSBORO, N.C. — The recent school shooting in Nashville has one Triad school district tightening up security at its elementary schools.
At Tuesday's Winston Salem Forsyth School board meeting the board unanimously approved grant funds to install more access control technology to entrances.
Winston-Salem Forsyth County schools already have an access control system at the front doors of its elementary schools.
The new safety project would prevent unauthorized guests from entering any door, including the ones in modular units.
Jonathan Wilson is the chief emergency management officer at WS/FC schools. He said the new addition would keep doors locked and secure and allow students and staff to go between buildings quickly.
“Have there been people who have come into the buildings unannounced I’m sure they have In the past but I can say at least for the past two to three years our exterior doors are locked,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the district has relationships with school resource officers and metal detectors but using only one tactic is not enough. He said multiple layers and tools are needed to keep everyone safe.
“Every day I come to work I'm hopeful and prayerful that we send kids home to their parents the same way we received them that's our goal,” Wilson said.
To achieve that goal Wilson secured a $750,000 safer Schools Grant from the state.
The school board approved more than $162,000 of the money to add access control devices to the 28 elementary schools that have separate buildings or modular units.
“There’s a card reader and beside it would be a pad and students can enter their number the same number they use to purchase lunch,” Wilson said.
They'll look pretty similar to the access controls at the modular buildings in middle schools.
“The things that happened in Nashville yesterday are just a reminder of how important those measures are. How important those relationships with law enforcement are,” Wilson said. “We can't do it by ourselves we need parents' help. We need students to give us tips when they hear or see something.”
There are 81 doors where the district will add keypads, which should be operational by the start of the next school year.
Wilson said he plans to ask the board for permission to use some of the extra money to install cameras in blind spots at elementary schools.