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H -\l l Ill (X ) CHRONICI}. ' Wedneulav Man it l i All“ . j "A. JUNK GEN'E Nchor2009 if”?! making your Junk disappearl a ‘Applc Series’ Home Plans » 519°722° DUMP (3867) m "um“ Save Up to 350,000 C fig ,-._*_. _‘ “is“.lenicvintvclleslenca . O I Debate begins on whether publlc schools should look their doors for safety BY Boa VRBANM.‘ a case~by»case basis. she said, and locking all ' 7» ‘(fljwm‘lt‘ Mill] school doors doesn’t work in every situation. . ,_. “There really isn't a one-size-fits~all policy Cpunt Mark Weir among those parents . é“ _ to make sure schools are safe and secure," vho thinks that locking school doors isn't be}? . . said Mackie. the best way to ensure school safety. 7, 1.v The board also has to avoid creating a Weir thinks its an overreaction to say that 7 ' -_ _ 7 fortress mentality for their schools. Schools all public school doors should be locked ' ‘f ‘ are a community resource and should be because of a few isolated tncidents ‘ ‘T accessible to the neighbourhood. He believes that the procedures are 314“ f am“, “We really work hard to make sure that already in place to handle such occurrences ig‘ , if our schools are safe and secure while making and it worked out well after a man accused of a, -. - ’ t j 'â€" sure they're still accessible to the communiâ€" robbing a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart in " ty,” said Mackie. “We don't want to make Parkdale plaza entered Winston Churchill ' them fortresses, we have to be careful that public school in December, where his two they’re not that." children attend. An adult confronted the sus- ‘ Mackie said they've avoided having a sys- pect right away. and the principal held him 5 tem-wide policy on locked school doors by and challenged him before the suspect fled. . emphasizing policies about the overall safety Weir sees nothing but problems with a ofschools. plan that will control access to the the school. , “The challenge around locking doors is especially for the children who are outside in that all of our schools' (buildings) are pretty portables. different." said Mackie. “in some cases lock- "How do kids get back into the school?" ing the doors might prove risky." asked Weir "I think it would be a logistical Like at [ester 8. Pearson public school in nightmare to do that ” Waterloo, which had more than I9 portables More importantly, he thinks it would give t" on site atone time. people in the school a fall sense of security. _ ‘ “Then you have a situation that could Once doors are locked the assumption is that ‘ occur when a student is trying to get into a everybody belongs inside but that's not ’ ' school from a portable and they don't have always the case. Unwanted visitors can still , . direct access." said Mackie. “Those kinds of find their way in. questions become problematic." “People are going to get complacent." said 1 . - ’ But Marion Thomson Howell, chair ofthe , Weir. "Vigilance is the key to all of this. and l i ' . Waterloo Catholic District School Board, said think if we had locked doors that would suf- ' 7 V -- ,, we they‘ve had no problems since they've insti~ fer." ” ' , "“"- “is“ ‘ tuted a board~wide locked door policy three In this Winston (Ihurchill situation some , ‘ - ‘ yearsago. ofhis criticism fell on local police. who he felt " ‘ ' " They brought cameras into school corri- ‘ should have let the school officials immedi~ Tom Schell is the chair of the parent council at Winston Churchill public school. The council dors where there are no clear sight lines. and ately know of the situation in the neighbour pushed for locked doors at the school during Monday night's school board meeting. make visitors bun in at the main entrance. hood. Then the school could have been mmmvo 1)“, policy is that all of the doors at ele- properly lockui down alert nearby schools. However. if the school "But in this case it was nothing but a suc~ mentary schools are locked,” said Thomson “The police have to take ownership in or someone connected with it are threatened cess story," said Coleman. "Our school policy Howell. this," said Weir. "They should have let the that would diawadiffetent response. was followed in this incident and our staff “There's absolutely no question that it school know that something was going on in As for the police service's response to the identified someone we didn't know in the would be awonderful world ifall the doors of the neighbourhood I'm shocked that they issue of locking doors, lleinzel said their role building. the facilities could be open and you could didn't." is not to advise school boards how to manage “Vigilance is a very important pan of any enter at will through any door. but the cir~ But in terms of what would trigger a their security. They are just there to address safety initiative in the school.” cumstancesare that it’s not the best choice." phone call from police to Iockdown a school any concerns they may have. As for the locked door issue Mary Lou As for concems about kids getting locked Waterloo regional police scndces spokesper “We're not there to direct their program Mackie, the public board's executive superin- out and that the schools themselves have son Olaf Hein/el said they can't reveal for them." said Heinzel. “it's really what they tendent of education, said it's more compli- become less hospitable, Thomson Howell specifics to insure the integrity of their plan- see as their priorities and then use us as a cated than saying every door should be said she's heard of no complaints. fling. resource." locked â€" even after an incident last week at “it's not that people can‘t enter during the “The situations vary." said lleinzcl "Nor Margaret Coleman. a spokesperson with Brigadoon public school in Kitchener. day. they just get buued in" she said. "It has would we want to disclose publicly what the Waterloo Region District School Board. An ofiice manager at that school suffered n’t been a problem at all. would initiatethat.“ said the board reviewed their policies and cuts and bruises after chasing down a “At the very beginning there might have He said if police are conducting an inves- procedures whenever an incident occurs like teenage thiefon school grounds. been a hassle. but people understand it's ligation in the area. as a precaution, they will the one at Winston Churchill These occurrences have to be reviewed on there for the safety ofthe children.‘ _ gs"): ' - ' a; Tax 82 . l l ; .~ ~ ~ l'i. u“. l 41 ,l{5 l I” ' I Thinking about upgrading your decor? We want ro'assist you by providing stylish ‘ and cost effective ways to update and improve your home. With the new Home Renovation Tax ”“ ' Credit, it will provide a one-year, temporary income tax credit on eligible home renovation .. ’ ‘ ‘ _ _ H. y . I L expenditures such as paint for your house or paying a painting contractor and much more. ' . 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