Troy schools seek to further improve school safety
By Marianne Eisenbrandt Correspondent February 25, 2013 1:31PM
Updated: April 5, 2013 6:04AM
The Troy School Board continues to improve security throughout the school district as a result of the tragic shooting of students in Newtown, Conn.
Director of operations Kenneth Surma at a recent school board meeting highlighted Hall Pass, a school visitor management system. The system should be implemented at all of the schools, the district office and the Technology Department by April 1, after students return from spring break.
Surma said Hall Pass instantly compares school visitor identification data against the integrated, comprehensive database of sex offender registries for every state. When a known sex offender is detected, Hall Pass sends instantaneous alerts preventing access.
State laws mandate that convicted sex offenders voluntarily report their whereabouts on a regular basis and remain in the state where they are registered.
Surma said that Hall Pass changes the equation. With integrated data and instant identification, Hall Pass can increase security and prevent incidents in schools.
When entering a building, each visitor must present a government-issued ID to the front office. The ID is scanned using the Hall Pass optical scanner and the information is checked against the National Sex Offender Registry and the district’s restricted list.
If the visitor is found on either list, the system will display all information related to the offender, including a photo, and will instantly send out alerts via text message and email to appropriate staff and district police officers.
If the visitor is cleared, Hall Pass will print a time/date badge with photo and school logo for the visitor to wear while on school grounds.
