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Washington County, Va Schools Increase Security

Washington County, Virginia Schools Beef Up Security (Added: March 27, 2009)

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By Bill Christian
Published: March 27, 2009

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On December 2, 2008 three men walked into High Point Elementary School in Washington County, Virginia. Police said one of them barricaded himself inside the school. The school was put into lockdown for several hours.

"Although their intent was not in any way aggressive toward anyone in the school, it scared a lot of people," said Dr. Alan Lee, Washington County, Virginia Superintendent of Schools.

He vowed to improve security at all schools in the county after the High Point incident.

"Following that we had a great deal of emotion, which I think was legitimate emotion coming from parents, coming from teachers that we needed to tighten our schools up more than we had," Lee said.

Almost four months after the High Point scare, some security measures are already in place and more are being added. Now, anyone who enters High Point Elementary must be buzzed in by someone in the front office before they are allowed to enter the school.

Internal security is also being added at schools like Watauga Elementary School. A concrete wall is in place and locking doors will soon be added. Teachers can lock themselves and students inside the classroom in case of an incident like what happened at High Point. But will all of this extra security be enough to keep students and teachers safe?

"The most secure thing I could do would be to put law enforcement officers in every one of our buildings and I can't do that," Lee said.
Seven resource officers watch over Washington County Schools everyday. Lee said security has always been a top priority for him and other educators in the county.