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Local school district puts added security measures in place

Posted at 6:04 PM, Aug 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-21 18:04:59-04

ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Teachers and students are having to change up their routine this time of year as they head back to school. So will visitors heading to any Forest Hills Public School building, thanks to a new system put in place as added security.

“So, a visitor comes in, [and] they cannot make it through these locked [hallway] doors. They have to go through the office, but they can’t get into the office until they get buzzed in,” explained Forest Hills Public Schools Superintendent Dan Behm.

The security measures are new at Forest Hills Central Middle School and the district’s 16 other buildings.

Visitors at virtually any school, anywhere, must report directly to the office. The difference at Forest Hills, Behm said, the office door is locked. It’s equipped with a buzzer and video intercom, designed to prevent an unknown, angry, or unstable visitor from gaining any access to the building or coming in direct contact with anyone. Desk phones allow staff to monitor the video intercom, talk to the visitor, and unlock the door.

“Even though acts of violence at school are very low incident events, because the safety of children is the number one priority we have as school officials, we need to make sure we’re doing all we prudently can," Behm explained.

"These recommendations come to us from trained security consultants,” he said.

The superintendent said some doors have the same features and all doors can be locked or unlocked en masse, if necessary. The new technology is made possible by a millage approved by voters in 2013. “We are fortunate in Forest Hills that our community has come together to support capital dollars to do these things," Behm said. "Not every community, not every school district has those same dollars,."

"The state is coming out now with some grants that schools can apply for these type of safety tools," he noted. "But, quite frankly, the dollars don’t go far enough to do all the things we’ve done thus far."

Employees have key cards to grant access during each employee's scheduled work hours.