Parent Questions North Allegheny School Board on Elementary School Security

For the second meeting in a row, members of the North Allegheny School Board have been questioned by a parent with concerns about school security.

Heidi Bodak spoke to the board Wednesday night, expressing concern for the safety of students. Her son is a first-grader at McKnight Elementary.

"I have noticed for the past several months, even before Sandy Hook, that the front doors of McKnight Elementary were never locked, and there's no type of identification process whatsoever when you go into the school," she said.

"I have never been asked for ID to take my son out of school," she said. "I've never been asked to provide identification before moving on to the classrooms."

Bodak said her husband made similar observations when he went to the school to pick up something.

"He wasn't asked for any identification, he wasn't given a hall pass, he was just told to go down the hallway," she said. "So he wandered the halls, no one seemed to care he was there.

"He got what he needed and was able to leave through the cafeteria doors, which were propped, open," she added. "I'm aware that there's 33 doors in McKnight Elementary. He could have left with anyone, and no one would have ever known."

Superintendent Dr. Raymond Gualtieri said the district is in the midst of a security review.

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"Yesterday, the administrative team met with the three police chiefs from the municipalities and we evaluated security," he said. "They came up with ideas, we brainstormed for about two-and-a-half hours, and we will be meeting with them again as we put together plans to upgrade security at all of our buildings."

At the Jan. 16 board meeting, Meghan King, a North Allegheny parent who works in the security industry, told board members that the district should hire a full-time director of security, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported .

She also talked about security measures used in comparable districts, such as Mt. Lebanon and Fox Chapel Area.

"Why them and not us," she asked. "We no longer live in that world where we can hope for the best," the PG reported.

At the end of Wednesday's meeting, board President Maureen Grosheider reiterated that security changes were already underway.

"There are number of items under consideration at this point in time and we will be addressing the security on a very extensive level," she said. "There have already been some steps taken in each of the various buildings, with respect to security."

Do you have a student in the North Allegheny School District? What do you think about security at your child's school? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

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