February 14, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Safety sphere bollards have been put in place at the entrances of Smithville Elementary, Northside Elementary, and DeKalb Middle School as a security measure.
The purpose of the bollards is to serve as a barrier to prevent anyone from using an automobile to crash into the front of the buildings. Bollards are currently not planned for the entrances at the high school and DeKalb West School because it is already difficult for an automobile to make a direct hit on those buildings. However bollards may yet be placed near the entrance of the West School gym
The bollards and other security devices recently added to the school buildings were funded as part of $83,570 in grant money awarded to the DeKalb County School District from the state.
The grant funds were also used to install a key fob entry system at the high school, to purchase more surveillance cameras at all schools to monitor activity inside and outside the buildings and to provide school staff with more walkie talkies for better communication.
All high school students and faculty have been assigned an electronic key fob to gain entry to the buildings while school is in session. Except for class changes, all doors to each building are kept locked during the school day. The students’ key fobs are active only from 7:45 a.m. until 3 p.m. week days and from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. for the faculty. Administrators may use their key fobs at all times.
Visitors to DCHS, like the other four schools in the county, don’t have access to a key fob. Upon arrival they punch a button to alert the office of their presence. The door is unlocked and they are allowed to enter. Once inside, visitors must sign in. Unlike the other schools, DCHS poses more security challenges because there are so many other ways to gain entry by way of the vocational and agriculture/band room buildings in addition to the main entrance.
When students arrive for school each morning, the school doors are open. The students gather in the cafeteria and wait for the bell signaling them to go to their first class. Once they are in the classrooms, the entrance doors to all buildings are locked.
Because the key fobs are programmed by computer, each students access can be limited to only the buildings they need to enter during the day and their use of the key fobs can be tracked through the system.
These security and safety needs of the school system were identified by a team assigned to make those assessments as a requirement for obtaining the grant.
Participating in those assessments locally were Director Patrick Cripps, Federal Programs Supervisor Dr. Danielle Collins, Attendance Supervisor Joey Reeder, Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins, Sheriff Patrick Ray, Smithville Fire Chief and Emergency Management Agency Director Charlie Parker, Alexandria Police Chief Chris Russell, and Earl Jared and Aaron Young of the District’s Maintenance Department.