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SOLON, Ohio — The Solon City School District will further enhance its security measures by using a Raptor Technologies visitor management system.
On Monday (Oct. 23), Superintendent Fred Bolden told the Solon Board of Education that the district will begin using the system in all schools sometime in November, “to strengthen the comprehensive measures already in place for the safety of students and staff.”
“We take security very seriously here in the district, and we’re always looking for new ways to enhance the security of our overall school district,” he said.
“Knowing who is in our buildings is important, and the Raptor system will allow us to do that with greater accuracy by electronically screening visitors, contractors and volunteers in the schools each day.”
Raptor Technologies is an information technology services and consulting firm based in Houston.
“It’s really going to help to add an extra layer of security about knowing who is in our buildings with our kids at those times,” Bolden said. “We wanted to let everybody know so they could prepare for it.
“Our goal is to know who’s in our building with our kids.”
Upon entering district buildings, visitors will be asked for an ID to be scanned or manually entered into the Raptor system, Bolden said. Acceptable IDs include a driver’s license, military-issued ID, Mexican consulate card and Passport ID card.
Parents or guardians who do not have a government-issued ID can provide an alternate form of photo identification, then school staff will manually enter the information, he said.
“Raptor checks visitors’ names, including known aliases, and dates of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not unknowingly entering our schools,” he said.
Although no other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency, the district will also be using custom alerts to identify restraining orders and restricted/unsupervised parent visitation orders when applicable.
The process takes just a few seconds, Bolden said.
Once entry is approved, Raptor issues a badge that identifies the visitor with photo, name, date and the purpose of the visit.
“As is current protocol, everyone coming to the school will still need to show a photo ID every time they visit,” Bolden said. “Procedures for school events with large numbers of volunteers will be communicated directly by your child’s school.”
In addition to parent volunteers, the new system will help with screening contractors, Bolden said.
“We have contractors who are coming into the buildings all the time,” he said. “They’ll actually get badges with their picture on them, and they’ll be dated, so you’ll know exactly when that badge was issued, and it will give that added layer of security.”
This new addition to the district’s safety protocols joins with other elements of its safety plans to work toward a safer school environment for all students, families and faculty, Bolden said.
“Although we do not detail the specifics of our district and school safety plans for security and tactical reasons, we wanted to share with families some of what we have in place so there is greater understanding of our layers of protection,” he said.
Some of the safety measures in place and in progress districtwide include:
- Hardened entrances with staged access to the buildings
- Security monitors at every building with direct radio access to police dispatch
- Cameras in all hallways, entrances and other specific locations throughout the district that police and safety forces can access remotely
- Dedicated on-duty Solon police officers specifically assigned to rotate among the schools during the school day
- Intruder/ballistic-resistant glass at ground level throughout the district by the start of the 2024-25 school year
- Prop-open door sensors on all entrances by the start of the 2024-25 school year
In addition, all city safety forces have master key and fob access to enter all facilities and in-building locked doors.
Board President Leanne Moses said it’s important to note that the Raptor system is being paid for via the district’s permanent improvement fund, which voters approved for the purpose of security measures.
“So we’re acting on our voters’ wishes and using those funds,” she said.
Treasurer Tim Pickana said some additional funding from grants has enabled the district to meet other needs to help free up money to be used for this system.
Bolden said Jason Bender, the district’s director of security, and Mike Acomb, director of business and personnel, have been working hard to secure “every extra dollar that we can” for security grants from the state and federal government.
“I think this is going to be something that our parents are going to appreciate, that extra level of security in the buildings and to feel confident about people coming into the buildings,” Moses said.
