Liverpool (WSYR-TV) -- Newtown’s schools, except for Sandy Hook, will welcome its students back on Tuesday.
On Monday, parents and educators around the country have tried to help children return to class without fear and as they did, districts took the time to review their own security procedures.
The morning for Liverpool’s principals was about the kids and helping them feel comfortable walking back into schools after the events in Newtown.
By afternoon the focus had shifted. The administrative team had gathered to go over security protocols. The tragedy at Sandy Hook didn’t start the conversation, but did provide another reason to review the schools’ safety measures. Routinely the district conducts audits of its system to make sure it’s running the way it should.
"We make sure that the people in the building are the ones that should be there, that they either have a badge or temporary badge and we check that exterior doors are locked and we have an audit process we go through and the security division does that and files a report with me,” explained Liverpool Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns. "The biggest concern for me is, I think we're pretty good at what we do. The question now, is that enough."
It’s a question many school officials are asking themselves. He says it’s a balance between being secure enough and not creating a police-like state where kids are coming to learn. It’s something Johns says most administrators are always reviewing.
Liverpool also uses the raptor identification system, which allows the district to run a valid state or government issued ID through a State Police criminal records check.
