This article was originally published by KFVS a CBS affiliate in Malden, Missouri, and it was written by Derrion Henderson.
To view the original article, click here.
MALDEN, MO (KFVS) – After a frightening situation, one Heartland school is taking extra precautions making sure that its schools are safe.
Malden Superintendent Kenneth Cook said after a teacher alerted him about a possible sex offender in one of his schools, he made sure that mistake would never happen again.
“They may register,” Cook said. “That doesn’t mean they’re going to follow it.”
For that reason, Cook said it was imperative for his schools to upgrade their security systems.
“You can’t be perfect there’s always a way,” he said. “Its just one more level of security that we’ve added, among all the many other things that we do in our district to keep our kids safe.”
School leaders decided to add three new security measures, making sure they know exactly who’s in their buildings at all times.
The first, a background check system, requires visitors to provide a state-issued ID.
It will alert the secretary if that person is a registered sex offender.
Another upgrade is more high-tech security cameras.
School officials and police will be able to look at every camera in the schools on their smart phones.
The last upgrade is a 360-degree digital image of every room in the school.
If there’s an active shooter situation, it will help authorities figure out where students and teachers can go to stay safe.
Misty Thomas teaches the 5th grade and has 2 children in Malden schools. She says she’s proud of school leaders keeping everyone safety first.
“I know that we pray that never happens here,” Thomas said. “I rest assured that for myself, for my students and even for my own personal children in this district that we know we’re going to take care of anything that could possibly happen.”
She said she appreciates all these extra precautions.
“I’m just thankful that they’re going to be ahead of the game,” she said. “That we’re going to be on the front end in case anything was to happen.”
The school plans to start to checking IDs on February 22.
