Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for November 11, 2006 HERRIN SCHOOL SECURITY

From the Southern Illinoisan...

Herrin schools beef up security measures

BY JOHN D. HOMAN, The Southern

HERRIN - Already equipped with an identification tag, Marie Pardus, a nurse employed with the Williamson County Special Education District, leaned over a table and signed her name on a guest list before a newly hired hall monitor at North Side School in Herrin.

The seemingly insignificant action is all part of upgraded security measures taken by the Herrin Unit 4 School Board at the urging of district Superintendent Mark Collins.

"In light of recent break-ins and shootings at schools around the country, I asked police to do a mock walk-through our buildings a few weeks ago to see how secure our schools were and asked them not to notify me when they were going to do it - only to tell me when they had finished," Collins said.

The conclusion was that security was far too lax as the unmarked police officer toting a black duffel bag pretty much came and went as he pleased at each of the buildings in the district.

"When I heard the report, I figured we had better tighten security around here - and right away," Collins said.

The board concurred and has hired monitors for each of the four schools at $9.10 an hour. Their job, Collins said, is to stop each person who enters the school through the front door, find out what business that person has at the school and then to assign a visitor's pass. All other doors are locked at each of the buildings. The monitors are also asked to check each door in the building where they work once an hour.

Moreover, name tags have been ordered for all full- and part-time employees.

"Our bigger concern is with the elementary schools because more parents visit those buildings," Collins said. "These new security measures may be a little inconvenient for some, but we're here to protect the children first. I'd rather have a few disgruntled parents than a kidnapped student."

Collins said there's nothing the school district can do to completely prevent an attacker from gaining access to a classroom. But hall monitors equipped with walkie-talkies and some new security doors are a step in the right direction. They supplement a $150,000 investment in security cameras at each school and a similar cash investment for phones in each of the classrooms throughout the district.

"What we're trying to do is make things as difficult as possible for a would-be attacker," Collins said. "If there ever were an incident at Herrin, I feel more comfortable knowing that we had some line of defense in place."

High school Principal Terry Ryker said the tighter security gives students, faculty, administrators and the general public more peace of mind.

North Side Elementary School Principal Gary Hernbeck said the unannounced walk-through by a police officer was quite sobering.

"Typically, we would see people moving in and around the halls after school started. But that's not the case anymore," Hernbeck said. "We now have our doors locked, with the exception of the front door, by 8:15 in the morning. Our staff has responded well to the changes. They see the positives that tighter security brings."