Lynbrook School District adding security vestibules

Brooklyn-based JNH Construction Group Inc. has begun installing security vestibules in the Lynbrook District’s six schools, Dr. Paul Lynch, assistant superintendent of finance, operations and information systems, said at the district’s June 12 Board of Education meeting.

“Some big work is happening right now,” he said. “So, if you’ve been to South [Middle School], Marion Street or North [Middle School] recently, you’ll see there are a brand-new set of doors there.”

The vestibules at the high school were installed last summer, Lynch told the Herald, and “door work” at West End, Waverly Park and the Kindergarten Center will begin the first week of July. After that, he said, the electronic components will be installed, and construction should be completed by the time students return to school in the fall. The vestibules act as extra doors to prevent visitors from entering the building unless they have been cleared for approved access.

Once the work is done, visitors to any of the district’s buildings will have to ring a call button to be granted entry. They will then step inside a vestibule, where they will be asked to hand a security guard their driver’s licenses or passports. The security guard will scan the documents against sexual offender databases and verify that the license or passport photos match the visitors. If they do, the guard will print out stickers with the visitors’ pictures on them, and they will be buzzed into the school. Then, once vistors’ business in the school is complete, they will remove the stickers, give them to the security guard and be given back their licenses or passports.

Funding for the system comes from the $2 billion Smart School Bond Act that New York state voters approved in 2014 to improve educational technology and security infrastructure in schools throughout the state. Lynbrook received more than $890,000 from the bond and awarded JNH a $416,000 bid for the vestibules’ construction in December.

Director of Facilities James Saitta announced the new entrance procedure during the district’s Board of Education meeting in April. He explained that the system has several benefits. For one, it forces visitors to return to the security desk to collect their identification, which also enables a security guard to ensure that the visitors leave the premises. Moreover, he said, “Every visitor who comes in will be logged,” and as a result, the security guards will know who is in the building.By Melissa Koenig

mkoenig@liherald.com

Brooklyn-based JNH Construction Group Inc. has begun installing security vestibules in the Lynbrook District’s six schools, Dr. Paul Lynch, assistant superintendent of finance, operations and information systems, said at the district’s June 12 Board of Education meeting.

“Some big work is happening right now,” he said. “So, if you’ve been to South [Middle School], Marion Street or North [Middle School] recently, you’ll see there are a brand-new set of doors there.”

The vestibules at the high school were installed last summer, Lynch told the Herald, and “door work” at West End, Waverly Park and the Kindergarten Center will begin the first week of July. After that, he said, the electronic components will be installed, and construction should be completed by the time students return to school in the fall. The vestibules act as extra doors to prevent visitors from entering the building unless they have been cleared for approved access.

Once the work is done, visitors to any of the district’s buildings will have to ring a call button to be granted entry. They will then step inside a vestibule, where they will be asked to hand a security guard their driver’s licenses or passports. The security guard will scan the documents against sexual offender databases and verify that the license or passport photos match the visitors. If they do, the guard will print out stickers with the visitors’ pictures on them, and they will be buzzed into the school. Then, once vistors’ business in the school is complete, they will remove the stickers, give them to the security guard and be given back their licenses or passports.

Funding for the system comes from the $2 billion Smart School Bond Act that New York state voters approved in 2014 to improve educational technology and security infrastructure in schools throughout the state. Lynbrook received more than $890,000 from the bond and awarded JNH a $416,000 bid for the vestibules’ construction in December.

Director of Facilities James Saitta announced the new entrance procedure during the district’s Board of Education meeting in April. He explained that the system has several benefits. For one, it forces visitors to return to the security desk to collect their identification, which also enables a security guard to ensure that the visitors leave the premises. Moreover, he said, “Every visitor who comes in will be logged,” and as a result, the security guards will know who is in the building.