Under Surveillance: School administrators and security officers have bolstered security protocols and installed more security cameras this year

In the last two weeks, an average of three to four side doors have been opened each day, according to Student Resource Officer Jeremy Schull. 

Since 1999, there have been 118 active shooter incidents in K-12 schools, according to Security.org. The majority of these have occurred from armed assailants entering schools through an unsecured point of entry.

Associate Principal Kristoffer Barikmo explained that since the Uvalde, Texas shooting in 2022, which left 19 students and five educators dead, the Shawnee Mission School District has looked to enforce a single controlled point of entry during school hours.

“When events like that happen, all schools across the country look at it and review those protocols with our staff,” Barikmo said. “We make sure that students know what the expectations are so that we don’t put our students and faculty in an unsafe environment.”

Schull explained that by opening or propping doors students violate security protocols that aim to isolate one secure entry point.

When a student opens a door, a security camera snaps a photo and alerts Campus Security Officer Michael Vega, who monitors all 140 cameras at the main entrance. Vega then emails the photo to the other Officers and Associate Principals Anna Theile and Tara Mahoney, while copying the District Chief of Police, Mark Schmidt. 

A total of 140 cameras monitor every door and high-traffic interior area at East, six of which were installed over winter break.

Shull explained that the I.T. team stayed over break to install the cameras and ensure that they were operational by the time school began. Prices can range from $1,500 to $3,500 per camera depending on the area that the camera covers. 

Two cameras were placed outside of both sides of the gender-neutral bathrooms on the second and fourth floors. Another camera was set up inside the staircase near the weights room due to concerns of illegal activity, according to Schull. 

Once a student has been identified as breaking the policy, administration decides on how to address the situation. 

“If it’s a first offense, it’s going to be a conversation,” said Barikmo. “But we’ve got to make sure we have a safe campus and someone that’s pushing a door open creates a security risk.”

Barikmo explained that second and third offenses could be a conversation with a parent or even an in-school suspension.

The cameras are all monitored by Vega with a wall covered in screens at the front entrance of the school. 

When students enter the building during school hours they must show their student ID or Skyward account to prove they are enrolled at East. When adults enter the building, Vega asks them to drop their driver’s license into a scanner, which checks a sex offender database.

Vega’s main job is to monitor security cameras on the inside of the building as well as to keep an eye on areas like the cafeteria and commons. He also monitors entrances to Indian Hills Middle School and Prairie Elementary, both of which are feeder schools for East.

“The fundamental purpose of the cameras is to help our security officers monitor what happens inside of our school,” Barikmo said. “Officer Vega is constantly monitoring entrance points to our school so that if somebody who looks like a threat is coming toward our school, our officers can respond to ensure safety for all students and staff.”