The Sioux Falls School District tightens security within all 35 of its buildings.
Some are new and designed with security in mind; others are older and need updates.
The new changes at Robert Frost Elementary school have parents talking.
You have to push a button and wait for staff to buzz you into Robert Frost Elementary now. Office staff can see and hear you before allowing you to come in.
All parents and visitors enter the building through a single door. Once inside, you sign-in in the office, and receive a visitor’s badge. Some parents, who didn't want to speak on camera, say the new system is too much.
Bob Bray is the district's risk manager. "It's incumbent on the school district, and parents alike for that matter, to ensure that there is a safe and secure learning environment for our children and for employees, as well as visitors," Bray said.
Some parents say a new camera system and locked doors are going a little bit overboard. Other parents say they'll do whatever it takes to help ensure the safety of students and staff.
"Anybody could walk into this building before, but now front staff has to see who is coming in and just giving them your drivers license, I don't think its a big deal," Robert Frost parent Laura Weber said.
The camera and buzzer system at Robert Frost is only temporary. The ideal entrance in the district involves two sets of doors, with the office area between them. Parents and visitors can show their I.D.'s, get their badges and be directed to where they need to go.
"It's just the way the world is today. What we have done is about in the medium range of what schools across the United States have done to ensure that safe and secure environment," Bray said.
All schools in the Sioux Falls district have been - or will be - modified to some degree, depending on the age and layout of the building.
Anyone caught violating the rules at any Sioux Falls schools will be stopped and escorted back to the office to show their drivers license and pick up a visitor’s badge.
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