Central Regional Officials Ramp Up Security In Both Schools

by Patricia A. Miller

by Patricia A. Miller

Staff and students in the Central Regional school district will soon be using swipe identification cards to enter the high school and middle school,  Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.

The proposal will involve roughly 10 doors in the sprawling high school and four in the middle school. Both schools are located on a 98-acre campus off Forest Hills Parkway in Bayville.

"The swipe card system will allow us to see who is entering the building at what time, and can be programmed not to let certain people in after certain times," Parlapanides said. "As there are over 50 entrances in the high school, the other doors are almost always locked and are not typically used during the course of the day."

All of the doors in both schools will be locked. The swipe cards will only work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will be deactivated on weekends, holidays and winter recess, he said at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.

Additional security upgrades will be done in phases, including more security cameras and a shatterproof screening to be installed on school windows, Parlapanides said.

Both the high school and middle school have an armed police officer on duty during school hours.