Visitors signing in at Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Burtonsville can expect to see some changes when they enter the school's main office.
The paper and pencil sign-in system is gone, replaced by a computer system that requires visitors to scan their driver's license or other government-issued ID for a printed visitor's pass. The system matches the ID with the emergency contact name listed and has the capability to check Maryland's sex offender registry, according to a statement on the Banneker Web site. The system is made by EasyLobby Company in Needham, Mass.
Banneker launched the Visitor Management System on Oct.6. The plan is to implement the system throughout the county in five years, according to Larry Bowers, chief operating officer of Montgomery County Public Schools. He said Banneker was one of the schools selected to receive the $2,500 system because it was scheduled to receive a computer upgrade this year.
"We eventually are going to have [the system] in all of our schools," Bowers said. "It's much easier to make certain who's coming in."
Financial restrictions are preventing the system from being immediately implemented in all schools, he said.
Howard Marson, CEO of EasyLobby, said the system deters criminals once they see they will have to produce an ID.
"The notion is to know who is in your school and why," Marson said.
The Visitor Management System is part of the county's security efforts, which also include the use of security cameras. The cameras are in place at all county high schools, and plans are to have them installed in middle school and elementary schools.
Last May, three middle schools were selected to receive cameras: Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown, Parkland Middle School in Aspen Hill and Francis Scott Key Middle School in Rockville.
Banneker Principal Samuel Rivera said it's too early to gauge the effectiveness of the Visitor Management System. But he said it has received some support in its early stages.
"Parents are great with it," said Rivera, who has been principal at Banneker for six years.
While Rivera said the system is "a new process for all of us," he said he appreciated that the system could search the sex offender registry. "It's a great tool."
