New York District Strengthens Visitor Entry Policy
Lynbrook public schools are strengthening their security with a new visitor entrance policy.
- By Jessica Davis
- May 01, 2019
Lynbrook public schools will soon be strengthening their security by implementing a new visitor entrance policy, Director of Facilities James Saitta announced at a recent Board of Education meeting. According to Saitta, the new policy will be put in place once security vestibules have been installed at every campus, which should be finished by the time students return for the 2019-2020 school year.
As part of the new policy, visitors will have to ring a call button outside of the school entrance to be buzzed into the security vestibule. Once in the vestibule, they will place their drivers’ license or passport into a scanner, which would run their ID against sexual offender databases and send a report to the security guard.
“Assuming everything is all cleared, the security desk would then buzz the person into the school,” Saitta said.
Once a visitor is buzzed inside, they will hand their ID to the security guard, who will then verify that it is the same ID that was scanned. If so, the system will print a sticker with the visitor’s photograph on it for the visitor to wear while in the school. The security guard will keep the visitor’s ID at the security desk while they’re in the building, and once the visitor is done with their business at the school, they’ll trade in their visitor sticker to get their license or passport back.
The system will also be able to pre-approve visitors who are at the campus frequently, like Parent Teacher Association Presidents.
If any issues arise, the school principal will be called in, Saitta said.
The system has several benefits, Saitta said. First, it requires visitors to return to the security desk to retrieve their ID, which enables the security guard to ensure the visitor leaves the campus. It also means that “every visitor who comes in will be logged,” which means that security guards will know wno is in the building.
The district might also require attendees of large-scale events like school concerts or plays to register in advance, but Superintendent Dr. Melissa Burak said the administration hasn’t decided on a system for that yet.
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.