MSD Policies
Safety
130 Building Access and Security
It is the policy of the Manchester Board of School Committee that building security is a shared concern and responsibility of all employees who work within each school district facility. Appropriate attention to building security is essential to the responsible care of the capital and operational resources provided for the education of the students of the school district.
Unauthorized access to our school buildings is strictly prohibited.
The Superintendent shall develop regulations to implement this policy.
BUILDING ACCESS AND SECURITY REGULATIONS
Access to school buildings and grounds outside of regular school hours shall be limited to personnel whose work requires it.
Keys, electronic access cards, and/or alarm codes shall not be loaned to anyone and under no circumstances shall school staff or employees have extra keys made unless specifically authorized to do so by the Superintendent or building principal. All keys and access cards shall be returned to the residing school principal upon their transfer or termination.
Combinations to school vaults and safes shall be changed each time there are changes in personnel. All equipment shall be stored in as safe a place as possible and staff and employees must avoid leaving equipment and supplies where they are readily accessible to others.
Classroom windows and doors shall be locked when the teacher leaves the building. Any staff or employee using the building in the evening or on weekends must have prior authorization from the school principal and verify doors are locked after entering and upon leaving. It is the staff or employee’s responsibility to make sure that the building security alarm is activated for the entire school upon exiting the school, if they are the last person in the building or the last person in the building secures the building.
No exit doors shall be chained or wedged open at any time whether or not the building is occupied. Principals, custodians, and other responsible persons must be certain that all accessible exits are operable whenever a building or portion of a building is in use. However, approved security bars or devices may be used to secure outside doors when school is not in session.
Master Key. The Master key is the most important key and limiting its distribution reduces the risk the key will be lost. It will also make it easier to keep inventory of where keys are and how many are in circulation. Leaving only one master key at each facility in the key cabinet will help with inventory. It is recommended this spare master key be connected to a highly visible neck lanyard that can be easily noticed in the event of a loss. The same goes for those master keys issued and not in the key cabinet.
Key Distribution. Superintendent shall establish the procedure on key access and inventory control. The procedure shall define when, and who should have access. Within the school district, some staff may be less strict on key control, so one universal policy reduces confusion for staff moving from school to school. Under no circumstances shall a master key be issued, even on a temporary basis, to any outside contractor. The master key issuance shall be limited to only the residing principal, assistant principal(s), and the SRO. The residing custodial contractor shall have access to a master key, but only from a secure key box located in a pre-determined area within the school, and then return all such keys to that same location at the end of each shift or before exiting the building. This limits master keys existing on the exterior of the school building, and therefore, its risk of loss to a more unsecure and vulnerable location.
End of School Year. At the end of each school year, the principal or designee shall have a checklist on who has what keys and access cards and whether they have been returned. Notify the City Security Manager on who should be added or removed from the system; this includes transfers.
Policy for Lost Keys. A lost key or access card must be immediately reported to the principal or designee. A lost key creates a serious security risk. An approximate cost to re-secure the school shall be given to the principal so as to make aware of the critical implications of a lost master key. The sanle applies to any outside contract employees working at the school (e.g. Aramark). Actions regarding lost keys remain with the Superintendent.
Lost Key Report. There shall be a uniform reporting method for any lost/stolen keys and access cards. The City Security Manager must be notified immediately upon first knowledge of any lost keys or access cards (so action can be taken to re-secure the school). Keys and access cards should be part of the inventory list for each member.
Exterior Door Access. Reducing the number of exterior door locations into the school building shall limit the number of lock cores that require replacing if a key is lost. It would also reduce the number of doors that may be left inadvertently unsecured. Furthermore, it would also assist in determining who and when people are entering the facility.
ID/Access Control Cards. The Superintendent shall establish a uniform policy on the wearing of ID cards, whether ID cards and also access cards. The recommendation is that ID cards are worn for identification purposes and access cards should be kept separately. A lost ID card will not open doors, and a lost access card does not identify the school location. Key fob entry is recommended at each school for the appropriate exterior doors versus the issuance of master/exterior door keys to gain access to the school by preauthorized personnel (i.e. teachers, Aramark, milkman, kitchen staff, etc.). It is recommended that one card is for ID and an unmarked card for access control.
Knox Box. Each exterior school Knox Box should contain a school master key rather than just containing the exterior door key, for there may be reason for Fire, after inside the facility, to gain entry into any interior room as well.
Classroom Door Security. The Superintendent shall determine what state the classroom doors and locks should be left in during school hours within the district; that is, all classroom doors always closed and in their locked positions, doors allowed to be open but in their locked position, or otherwise. The Columbine Classroom Security Lever Sets allow the user the option of setting the outside lever in the unlocked position with the capability of locking the door from inside the classroom, or setting the outside lever always in the locked position full-time. (The interior lever can never be configured in the locked position - it will always allow egress out of the classroom irrespective of the state of the outside lever).
Key Issuance. The Superintendent shall determine the level of documentation associated with key issuance to different personnel needing access to the facility. The current system in place, for example, pertaining to an outside contractor needing to perform facility work within the school building, is the KEY ISSUANCE form that must be completed before any facility keys are issued.
Previous Approvals:
Revised from 8/10/09; Coordination: 10/10/12 BOSC: 11/13/12
First Reading Finance and Facilities: 11/04/20
Second Reading and Adoption by BOSC: 11/09/20