ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- At Tuesday's meeting, the School Board approved the district's request to secure bids for a security system that would be installed at 37 doors throughout 20 elementary and middle schools.
After the Sandy Hook tragedy, School Superintendent Michael Muñoz says the district took a serious look at its safety policies.
"We've been researching what's out there," Muñoz said. "We've talked to some schools that are using a variety of different things and kind of landed on what we're bringing to the board tonight."
After school starts at any elementary or middle school, visitors would only be able to get in the building through 1 to 3 specific doors. The visitor would have to ring a buzzer and appear on two different security cameras before being allowed in the building.
"It's going to really allow us to have better control of access into the buildings," Muñoz said.
The entire system would cost about $123 thousand and $87 thousand for installation
It will add to security cameras already present in Rochester Public Schools.
We spoke with a school liaison officer who welcomes the added security, but also says school safety is constant balance
"School safety is about a lot more than just keeping shooters out of the building," said Sergeant Jennifer Hodgman. "It's about having different options in response to different threats that we may encounter here at the school."
Munoz said the district considered placing security systems in the high schools as well but decided against it because of the open campus policy and large security presence.
