MERIDIAN — Wednesday, students in the West Ada District head back to school!
There are a number of new security features, from elementary up to high school, that parents should be aware of.
West Ada spokesman Eric Exline says about one-third of all the schools in the district now feature a webcam system where visitors come to the office door, staff is able to view the guest through the camera and if it’s appropriate buzzes them in.
This security feature will eventually be implemented in all schools over the course of the year.
In addition, all students at West Ada high schools will be required to wear lanyards with ID cards attached.
Students will have to swipe them to get into the building.
Eventually, this system will be in all middle schools as well.
"We actually saw the system first, Boise High has a system like this with the badge swipe system and we went and saw how it worked, what they had to do to implement it. And although we realized it's a big project, it's worth it. I think our kids will feel safer, I hope our parents will feel like their kids are safer and I think they will be," says Exline.
Exline added that the district is also in the process of rolling out a security feature where visitors ID's will be scanned through a system and background check will be performed on the spot.
Exline says the new safety features are paid for by a recently passed levy.