Although they were initially touted as a high-tech method for taking attendance and maintaining security, BCPS One cards won’t be employed here.
“They have pulled the plug on that and it is finished,” principal Sam Wynkoop said.
Security should be strengthened by the school’s renovation, set to begin this summer, Wynkoop said, adding that for now, it’s virtually impossible to monitor all 33 of the school’s exterior doors, especially without upgraded security cameras.
Regardless of the signs that say “Please do not open these doors to allow others to enter,” a Griffin reporter witnessed students opening the side door of school to allow someone to enter in the morning the week of Jan. 11.
Assistant principal Connie Dean wasn’t surprised.
“How you control that, I don’t know,” Dean said.
Wynkoop acknowledged that it’s a struggle to handle the situation without breaking fire code.
“It’s not a jail. We can’t lock the doors so that they can’t go out,” Wynkoop said.
An anonymous student confided that he leaves school to get lunch and then re-enters via a side door trouble-free.
“I’ve had a teacher open the door for me. They just let me in,” the student said.