The county and city have both installed systems that read visitors' identification cards.
Visitors to many Roanoke Valley schools are now being asked to bring a driver’s license to gain entry .
The valley’s two largest school systems have new sign-in procedures for visitors this school year, which include swiping the picture ID cards before entering the hallways.
In Roanoke County the visitor’s identification will be run against a national sex offender registry and the visit will be logged . In Roanoke an ID dropped through a card reader will record the visitor’s name and address and log the visit.
School officials said the new procedures are about keeping children safe. They reflect a nationwide focus on school safety in the wake of the mass killings of children and staff at a Connecticut elementary school last year.
Local school officials said they want to monitor who is in their buildings and have a uniform process for visitors at all schools. Previously, the practices varied by school . Officials from both school divisions also said that not having an ID won’t keep parents out of schools.
“You want to know at all times who is in your building and what is their purpose for being there,” Roanoke Deputy Superintendent Curt Baker said. “That is at the heart of what we’re doing here.”
The system in Roanoke, which launched Tuesday, was a recommendation from an annual safety audit and will be paid for mostly by grant funds.
The governor’s office announced Tuesday that $6 million is being given to 86 school divisions across the state to improve safety and security, including $100,000 to Roanoke. The new visitor system cost about $132,000.
Baker said the preference is for visitors to city schools to bring a driver’s license when they come to school, but they can bring another picture ID. ..continued.. by Annie McCallum
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