Security has gotten even tighter at Collinsville schools.

The district has employed a security system that checks visitors' names against a national registry of sex offenders. The system was implemented in all district elementary schools in January; it had already been in place at the middle school and has yet to be implemented at the high school.

"The middle school was our initial installation," said the district's Director of Technology Mike Kunz. "Part of the reason is one of our SRO (security resource officers) was familiar with the program and felt it would help us in checking visitors. The school board liked it and it was recommended to be installed at all of our locations, with the exception of the high school." The district is still considering how to manage the multiple entrances at the high school, Kunz said.

Under the new system, visitors to district schools are required to provide state identification that is scanned into a reader; the visitor's name is checked against a national database of registered sex offenders. The system prints a label that has the visitor's photograph, name and reason for visiting in large print. Visitors are required to wear the label the entire time they are in the school building.

Kunz said that if a visitor is found to be listed in the sex offender registry, a school resource officer is notified immediately. That person is either asked to leave the school or, if they have business at the school such as a parent-teacher conference, he or she is required to be accompanied by an administrator at all times. Kunz said that since the system has been implemented, only one "hit," or name found on the registry, has occurred and that person was escorted out of the building.

Each school has a optical scanner and label maker. The system uses a web-based software called V-Soft provided by Houston-based Raptor Technologies. Kunz said there was an initial fee of $1,500 per school to hook up the scanner and the database and there is an annual charge of $430 per school.

School Superintendent Bob Green said implementing the security system district-wide is an example of how important safety is to the district.

"This helps us identify any potential threats to student safety," Green said. "The first time I went into the middle school, I had to give them my drivers' license and make sure I was safe — that's how seriously the staff takes it."

Contact reporter Ramona C. Sanders at 618-344-0264, ext. 136