In the wake of recent mass shootings, Gwinnett County Public Schools officials have detailed new safety measures ahead of the upcoming school year.
"Safety and security at every school is hard; you have to draw a fine line between keeping a school safe and making it look like a military installation," said Tony Lockard, chief of police for Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Following the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, there have been renewed calls for districts around the country to improve security measures.
Lockard told reporters that the district would be expanding their visitor management system known as Raptor, which checks a person who wants to enter the school against the list of registered sex offenders. He stressed that this system does not check immigration status or wanted status, and if a parent were on the registry, they would still be able to access their child.
"It may restrict their access to the other student population," Lockard explained.
The district is currently working on retrofitting nearly 20 schools with so-called "security vestibules," which provide another hurdle for people to clear if they are trying to enter the school.
"They have to buzz the visitor management system and the video doorbell; then they are buzzed into the first set of doors," Lockard described. "Then they have to get approval to enter through the second set of doors."
Gwinnett, the largest district in the state, has the largest school police force, with 98 officers. Lockard said there is at least one at every high school and middle school, but not elementary campuses. Unlike Gainesville City Schools, which recently announced plans to hire armed guards for every school, Lockard said they are not considering a similar strategy in Gwinnett. However, they want to hire 10 to 20 more School Resource Officers (SRO).
With a salary ranging from $48,000 to $66,000 a year, SRO candidates must meet minimum training and certification standards for officers.
"We're also looking for an officer that loves interacting with kids and students," Lockard explained. "A person that wants to become engaged and build relationships with the students and the young adults here."
The district will also launch a new tipline so parents, faculty and students can say something if they see something.
"Because quite frequently, if a student is going to act out in a violent manner, there's a good chance that someone else knows about it," Lockard said.
He said that the district is committed to ensuring school safety, and he hopes some of the new measures will give parents and students peace of mind.
"We're continually trying to improve and look at what we can do better to make our schools more safe [and] secure for our students and faculty," he said. "We're not just reacting; we're being proactive."
