New Security System for St. Johnsbury School

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Created on Friday, 19 October 2012 13:46

Written by Jessica Walsh

ST. JOHNSBURY- The past couple of months have been scary times for the residents of St. Johnsbury with the escape of inmates, the murder of Melissa Jenkins, and most recently the discovery of a meth lab. Even going out and about around town has people on high alert, but what about the parents who are sending their children to school? 

Most schools in our area don't have a high alert security system, if any at all, but that's all changing now in one particular school.

The St. Johnsbury School has put in what they call a "buzzer system" at their front door.The process is simple; when a parent, guardian, or guest comes to the school, they must ring the buzzer and wait. The secretary inside the school then hears the buzzer, and looks down at a screen where she can see the face of the vistor. If there is an issue, the secretary can then converse with visitor through a intercom system. Finally, after learning about the intentions of their visit, she can either chose to let them in, or keep the door locked.

The visitor must then walk down the hallway and sign in the visitor log, which was the original protical before the new system. One of the reasons why the buzzer was put in place is because the front door is so far away from the sectretary's office. At the office, workers can not even see the front door. This new system allows the school to be more secure, which some parents feel will make the students feel uneasy.

Patrick Campbell, the facilities coordinator at The St. Johnsbury School, was one of the supporters of the idea and helped put the new system in place. Campbell said that some parents were opposed to the idea because the students might feel afraid of the outside world and wonder why their school needs to be on a constant lock down. Although it may seem like it's too late to put in the new system, Campbell says that is not the case at all.

 "I don't think that it's too late, I think that it's time that we need to move forward and think about the things that are happening in the country and in different areas and not wait until something happens, because then it is too late," said Campbell. The school is currently getting used to the new system, and as of right now, it is a huge success.