On Sept. 17 and 18, Head of School Tom Dillow, Director of Facilities Larry Marciano, Board of Trustees member Mark Wolman, and two consultants from Critical Intervention Services assessed the security system at KO. Mr. Marciano said that they examined the locking mechanisms of every window and every door on campus. “We also looked at the lock down system and the fire system,” he said, “there was a fire drill on Monday.”
Dean of Students William Gilyard said that the inspectors would write up a proposal for the community to be safe and then the Board of Trustees would decide what is applicable and what’s not. Mr. Marciano said that the report would come in around three weeks. “Then we will have more recommendations, and we will follow up with them,” Mr. Marciano said.
Mr. Marciano said that the enhanced securities upgrade may or may not happen, depending on the final report and the decisions of the trustees. He explained that there might be cameras installed in the parking lots and at all the entrances. He said they also might add a fob system for students to get into locked doors. “And the fobs system, which we are experimenting with right now means that all the doors will be locked and students will be given card IDs to unlock the door,” Mr. Marciano said.
Furthermore, Mr. Marciano said that there might be another guard during the day, from 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., in addition to the guard that monitors the perimeter of the school at the present from 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. He said that the new guard would monitor the parking lots and the buildings by walking around to make sure that the buildings and the students are safe. Mr. Marciano said that the new fob system for faculty was implemented six months ago. He also said that there weren’t any specific events that triggered the plan. “There has been a lot of national violence, and we want to be prepared for any potential danger,” Mr. Marciano said.
Mr. Gilyard agreed that the security changes were not a response to any particular events. “Security has been on the minds of people for a long time since we have [had] an open campus,” he said. He expressed the concerns of people outside of the community walking straight through campus and school shootings happening elsewhere in the country. Mr. Marciano said that the fobs system may bring some inconveniences to students but the transition starting from last March was, in part, meant to see the reactions that members of the community would have toward the potential security system.
Mr. Gilyard said that he understood there were rumors and thoughts about the security changes on campus. He stressed that nothing is certain at the moment, and that the school would need to look into it more once the report comes in. Mr. Gilyard explained that the idea behind leaving only the main doors open is to increase the chance of having someone at the school see whoever walks in. “So then, when someone we don’t know comes in, a faculty member at the school can come up to him and ask him what is going on,” Mr. Gilyard said.
Mr. Gilyard said that faculty members have access to all the doors. “Faculties can help students gain access to doors if the students happen to be walking with them,” Mr. Gilyard said. “When there was the major rain the other day, I held the door open so that kids can go from one door to the next.” Both Mr. Marciano and Mr. Gilyard said that the goal of the security changes is to make sure that students are safe on campus. “We do care about our students, and we want them to be safe,” Mr. Gilyard said.
