Idaho Falls School District 91 implements new security measures
Idaho Falls School District 91 is making sure its students and employees stay safe in an emergency. Superintendent George Boland sent a letter to parents outlining new safety measures being put into effect. All district and school employees now have standardized badges showing they work in the building.
Visitors at schools will have to sign in and receive a visitor sticker. The new measures are designed to help staff know who should or should not have access inside the schools.
“The only way that that system is going to work is if our parents partner with that and they take the time to stop in the office, check in, get that sticker,” said District 91 spokeswoman Margaret Wimborne. “It’s not to slow them down, but it’s really an important part of creating safer schools so that it’s very clear who is authorized to be in that building at any given time.”
The district has partnered with the city of Idaho Falls to add a third resource officer. They will also renovate entrances to six schools to secure the buildings and limit access to them.
“Once we have these new systems in place, the board is also going to be looking at creating policies around those,” Wimborne said. “Does it make sense to have the school’s doors locked at all times? Do you keep the school doors open kind of in the morning and the afternoon as kids are coming and going or families are coming and going, but then lock them during the school day?”
The district is also installing video doorbells at entrances. It plans to hold various drills throughout the year for students and staff to be prepared in the event of an emergency.
“Our focus is really on trying to mitigate dangers and address, address things to make our schools safer,” Wimborne said. “And it’s definitely something that we, you know, partner with the community, with our parents, with our law enforcement agencies on.”
The school district asks parents to update their contact information on PowerSchool. It also asks them to sign up for emergency text message alerts. You can do so by texting “YES” to 67587.
