The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Enhanced security result of Sandy Hook tragedy by Tim Whitnell Metroland Media West 3 | Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com While many school boards around Ontario will be busy installing surveillance cameras, locks and buzzer devices at the main entrance to their elementary schools in time for this September, the Halton Catholic school board is already there. The Ontario government's front-door security initiative, part of its Safe Welcome Program, is a province-wide attempt to make schools less vulnerable to intruders. It was sparked by the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, where a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Some 2,450 elementary schools applied for and received Provincial funding this spring to install front-door buzzers and security cameras. There will be a monitor inside the main office as well so that elementary school employees, likely clerical staff, can see who is at the front door, whether it's a parent dropping off a lunch or a stranger, and decide whether to let them in. Halton Catholic board facilities superintendent Giacomo Corbacio said all 42 of its elementary schools already have such frontdoor security in place as the board took the $5,000 per school offered by the province back in 2008 as part of a similar initiative. Any of the board's new schools built since then would have had the same security features incorporated, at the board's expense. The only Halton Catholic elementary school to not yet get the front-door security features is St. Anne on Doug Wright Drive in northeast Burlington's Alton Village community. That's because the new school won't open until this September. Two new Milton elementary schools also will have the system when they open in September 2014. The front doors to the board's high schools are not normally locked during regular school hours. Corbacio said there have been no major concerns within the board with the security system's use, as far as he knows. In most cases the elementary school's clerical staff are the individuals who monitor the front door via a video screen in the main of- fice. They can see who is at the school's front door and can ask them why they want in and to provide identification, if necessary. The Halton Catholic board is eligible for additional funding related to the ministry's Safe Welcome Program. It plans to use its $133,300 ($3,100 per school) to upgrade or enhance security at its elementary schools. "We have some schools with portables where students sometimes need to enter the school through a back door that's locked, so we may install electronic passes on those doors where students can use a swipe card," said board communications spokesperson Lisa Stocco, citing an example of how the latest funding might be used. Each school has latitude as to how it chooses to use that security funding, she said. In 2005, the Halton District School Board had 42 of its public elementary school sites receive locking doors, security cameras and buzzer access systems. That means about half of its remaining elementary schools will get them for this fall. For details about Halton Catholic board Policy II-45, Access to School Premises, go to http://bit.ly/1axerkq. -- with files from the Toronto Star Helping You Make Smart Decisions About Your Money Voted Number 1 Financial Planner 10 Years Systems installed at 40 schools continued from p.1 schools to have a locked-door policy. The initiative is in response to the December tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, before turning the gun on himself. Then-premier Dalton McGuinty announced the Province will be spending up to $10 million to ensure every elementary school in the province has a locked-door policy while students are in class. The Safe Welcome Program is providing funding to all elementary schools for such devices as locking doors, security cameras and buzzers. In 2005, the Province spent $3 million to pay for similar retrofits to approximately 850 schools, which did not have the school's main entrance in view from the office. Now, all elementary schools will have the systems in place. At the Halton public board, 43 schools had the systems installed in 2005. This time around, the systems will be installed at 40 schools. The provincial funding is paying for the installation of the electronic entry systems for one doorway per school. The Halton public board is chipping in an additional $600,000 to equip two additional doors with card swipe access systems at each school. All 42 elementary schools of the Halton Catholic District School Board already have the front-door security systems in place after the board has installed the hardware through a similar initiative five years ago. MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI Certified Financial Planner Peter Watson SINCE 1991 220 Randall Street · Downtown Oakville Phone: 905.842.2100 www.peterwatsoninvestments.com Don't Compromise on Driver Training UPCOMING COURSES · 20 hours in class · 10 hours online · 10 hours in car (automatic) OR · 12 hours in car (manual) · MTO Approved Beginner Driver Education Program Provider July 15,16,17,18 Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs 9:30am to 3:30pm July 29,30,31 August 1 Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs 9:30am to 3:30pm August 6,7,8,9 Tues,Wed,Thurs,Fri 9:30am to 3:30pm www.drivewiseoakville.com 905-845-7200