By Jeff Lipton and Andrew Coen
School officials said they have remained pro-active when it comes to securing school buildings during school hours. The installation of closed-circuit TV cameras, the requirement that employees and even students wear photo ID tags and the addition of sign-in monitors posted at the entrances have given parents, students and staff a greater sense of safety, school officials said.
But another Herald sample survey of school buildings conducted last Wednesday, Sept. 17, revealed that problems still persist. The most serious breach in Lawrence was found at the middle school, where the district administration offices are located. All side entrances were locked except one, which leads to a side parking lot. A sign on the door says it is to be used for registration and transportation purposes only, and that all other visitors should use the main entrance. A Herald reporter walked in with no problem, found the door unguarded and proceeded to walk through the first and second floors unnoticed for several minutes.
District officials said they were surprised that the door was unlocked, and added that that should never happen. Dennis Verriello, director of facilities and operations for Lawrence Public Schools, said, I use that door five to six times a day and it is always locked. We're pretty diligent about that.
I'm glad you brought it to our attention, Lawrence school board President Frank Parise told the Herald. I'm glad that you made that observation. We'll follow up on it. We'll make sure that door is locked also. If we're going to be in a lock-down in the building, we have to make sure everything is locked.
The Herald discovered that the gym doors leading to the parking lot at the middle school, which during last year's survey were found wide open, were securely locked last week.
Open-door policy' at Hewlett H.S.
The most glaring security problem in the Hewlett-Woodmere District once again appeared to be at Hewlett High School, where the pool facility doors leading to the parking lot were found wide open. During last year's survey the same problem was uncovered.
It's not unusual for the doors leading to the pool to be left open, said Dennis Sheridan, director of facilities for Hewlett-Woodmere. Physical education classes and swim classes go out that way. They should not be left open, and they have to make sure the doors are closed behind them.
A Herald reporter came through the main entrance of Hewlett High School and was issued a visitor's pass, and his ID was requested by a hall monitor. But the reporter was then allowed to roam the halls unescorted for several minutes. After the visit, he was asked to return the pass to ensure that he left the building. Last year, the district considered having visitors leave their driver's licenses, but given the possibility that licenses could be lost, the liability issue made that proposal unworkable, officials said.
The elementary schools in both districts came through the survey with flying colors. In many cases, school officials requested ID from the Herald reporter. All entrances were securely locked, and the Lawrence School District added monitors at the doors in addition to a buzz-in system. We don't have armed guards at the door, said Parise. These [monitors] live in the community. These people were once bus matrons with friendly faces who know most people in the school community.
Verriello said the district is in the process of providing the monitors with phones to call police or school administration in an emergency. Late last school year, the district also provided each of its employees with an ID badge to wear on school grounds.
Our parents, when they come in, feel much more comfortable when we are asking them for ID and asking them to sign in, said Parise. Certainly it's a comforting feeling for them.
Dr. Steven Kussin, Lawrence High School's principal, said his students have been issued photo ID cards to wear around school as an additional safety precaution. This is a new day and age, Kussin said. To me, security is first and foremost in a post-9/11 world. Students and staff are being cooperative, and we're very appreciative of that.
Verriello said the district may also issue photo ID's to middle-school students. We're trying to be preventive and very proactive, Verriello said. We continue to spend a lot of time making recommendations to the board.
Parise said the number of guards at Lawrence High School has been increased from three to four. The high school continues to get high marks for having nearly airtight security. The upgrade was carried out at the beginning of the school year after the district's health and safety committee developed recommendations for the school board, which agreed to implement the changes.
During a Herald survey last year, more lapses in security were uncovered, and Lawrence district officials faxed school principals and maintenance workers urging them to tighten up. Visitors were buzzed in by main-office personnel without monitors waiting to sign them in or issue them passes.
The private schools in the Five Towns apparently have tight security measures. At Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High School in Cedarhurst, for instance, a guard is stationed at the front entrance, allowing no one inside the building until proper ID is presented.
Orly Benarie, whose son attends fifth grade at the Number Six School in Woodmere, said of the school, I do feel it's secure, but there is always need for more than that because maybe it's not enough. Somebody is always there when you walk in, but I hope they keep it until the end of the year. I feel like if they won't let anyone in without information, it's perfect.
Benarie, who also has a son attending the Lawrence Middle School, said, I came today [last Thursday] and nobody was there. It's too big over there.
Benarie, who grew up in Israel, said that since Sept. 11, America has tightened up security, as was already the case in Israel. Over there they won't take chances, but here in America they come back to regular life easily, Benarie said. They forget easily. In Israel, if it happens once, we don't forget it. We don't take chances.
