Yukon schools install security system

YUKON — Yukon School District officials have installed a new security system in all their schools aimed at keeping students and teachers safe.
Fast Pass is an electronic identity and visitor management system that checks if visitors to a school are listed on the National Sex Offender list, Assistant Superintendent Kent Mathers said.
Mathers said the system will do a lot to improve security districtwide.
"Our number one priority is the safety of our students and our staff,” he said. "Unfortunately, we live in times when increased security measures are absolutely necessary.”
Visitors to any school will now be asked to present their driver's license or other government-issued identification when they check in, Mathers said. School officials then will scan in the identification.
Within seconds, the information will be checked for several items, including if the identification card has been tampered with or is a fake.
Mathers said the system only will check to see if people are registered sex offenders. It will not check to see if they have any other types of criminal charges against them.
If a visitor is cleared, the system will print out a badge that will note whether the person is a visitor, vendor or volunteer, officials said. It also will list what areas the person is allowed to enter.
If a visitor is listed on the sex offender list, the person will be asked to leave, officials said. The school then will notify law enforcement about the attempted entry.
MAPS for Kids funds paid for the $60,000 system, Mathers said.
The system is only the first of several planned districtwide security improvements, Mathers said. Officials hope next to update the security surveillance systems at each school, he said.
The new surveillance system still is in the planning phase, he said. District officials have not yet discussed how the new surveillance systems will be paid for or when they will be installed.