Lincoln Schools Look At Security Measures At Buildings

Review is part of an annual study of crisis procedures

— The Lincoln School District is reviewing its crisis management plan because the district does that review every December, although the Connecticut school shooting last Friday weighed on school board members Monday.

Before Friday’s shooting, Superintendent Clay Hendrix said the district was already looking at its intruder and lockdown policies and plans were already in the works to conduct training on handling intruders and lockdown procedures for all employees today.

Since the shooting, there were no calls from concerned parents and Monday was a regular day for school, Hendrix said.

During Monday’s school board meeting, Hendrix said, the intruder policy will be changed from locking students and teachers in a room to getting people out of the building, in line with a change nationally. The board likely will vote on the policy change in January.

The middle school is a particular challenge for lockdowns because it consists of several buildings, Hendrix said. Most doors at the elementary and high schools remain locked with the only access through the front doors.

The makeup of the middle school campus could result in a student being locked out of the building in an emergency, he said.

An estimated 90 percent of the campus is covered by video cameras, he said.

School board member Kendra Moore said she would feel better if the front door of the elementary school was locked and an intercom system allowed visitors to communicate with the office.

Marsha Hash, elementary school principal, told board members she has never heard a complaint from parents about access when it comes to security.

“Parents are generally great when it comes to security,” Hash said.

School Board President Dax Moreton said controlled access to the elementary school could also help school officials better deal with custody issues that arise.

Hendrix said he would continue to look at different security methods for each of the schools.

“I’m not being insensitive but the National School Boards Association released a statement over the weekend that schools are still the safest place to be,” Hendrix said.

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